JP2011114495A - Network monitoring control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network monitoring control system which enables further reduction of power consumption under low load while simplifying measures against noise and reducing power consumption under high load. <P>SOLUTION: When a communication load amount of an operation unit 1a is higher than a communication threshold value K1, the operation unit 1a carries out network communication processing. When identification information of a transmission destination included in a received packet differs from the own identification information, the operation unit 1a transmits the received packet through a network. When the identification information of the transmission destination included in the received packet is identical to the own identification information, it transmits the received packet to an operation unit 1b. The operation unit 1b executes application according to the communication packet from the operation unit 1a. When the communication load amount of the operation unit 1a is equal to or less than the communication threshold value K1, the operation unit 1a stops the network communication processing, and the operation unit 1b carries out the network communication processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network monitoring control device.

  There is a home system in which a plurality of terminals are connected to a home network and communicate with each other. Such a system is provided with a network monitoring control device that performs monitoring control of network communication such as relay of communication between terminals and detection of communication abnormality.

  In the network monitoring and control apparatus, a calculation unit that executes network communication processing is configured by a CPU or the like. However, in recent years, the amount of information handled by the network monitoring and control apparatus has increased, and not only network communication processing but also product value Various application functions have been added to improve the performance, and the amount of load on the arithmetic unit has increased. Application functions include a security sub-system using electric locks, human sensors, etc., a device sub-system that monitors and controls external devices through communication using wireless signals, and an energy sub-system that monitors power consumption in the home. Examples include a function to be managed and a wireless communication function performed with each terminal.

  In response to this increase in load, the calculation unit has attempted to improve processing capability by increasing the operating frequency. However, when the calculation unit operates at a higher operating frequency, noise generated from the calculation unit increases, and problems such as difficulty in noise countermeasures and increase in power consumption occur.

  Therefore, there is a method in which two operation units are provided in the network monitoring control device, the first operation unit performs network communication processing performed between terminals on the network, and the second operation unit executes the application function. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Thus, the operation frequency of the arithmetic unit can be lowered compared to the case where a single arithmetic unit performs monitoring control of network communication and management of application functions, so that noise countermeasures can be simplified and power consumption can be reduced. It became.

JP-A-9-84149

  However, since the two calculation units are always operated regardless of the load amount of the calculation unit, power is wasted when the load is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and its purpose is to simplify noise countermeasures at high loads and reduce power consumption, and to further reduce power consumption at low loads. It is to provide a supervisory control system.

  The invention of claim 1 is a network monitoring control device provided in a network through which a communication packet including identification information of a transmission destination is transmitted, the transmission destination included in the communication packet which is given predetermined identification information and received from the network A first computing unit that performs network communication processing for exchanging communication packets through the network based on the identification information, and a second computing unit that is assigned the same identification information as the first computing unit and executes the application. A first communication load detecting means for detecting a communication load amount of the network communication processing performed by the first calculation unit, and the communication load amount of the first calculation unit detected by the first communication load detection means is the first If the communication threshold value is higher than 1, the first calculation unit performs network communication processing, and the first calculation unit identifies the transmission destination identification information included in the received communication packet. Is different from its own identification information, the received communication packet is transmitted through the network, and when the destination identification information included in the received communication packet is the same as its own identification information, the received communication packet is The second computing unit executes the application in accordance with the communication packet from the first computing unit, and the communication load amount of the first computing unit detected by the first communication load detecting means is the first. When the communication threshold value is less than or equal to the first communication unit, the first calculation unit stops the network communication process, the second calculation unit performs the network communication process, and the second calculation unit identifies the transmission destination included in the received communication packet. When the information is different from the self-identification information, the received communication packet is transmitted through the network, and the destination identification information included in the received communication packet is the same as the self-identification information. And executes the application according to the communication packet signal.

  According to the present invention, by using two arithmetic units, the operation frequency of each arithmetic unit can be lowered compared with the case where one arithmetic unit performs monitoring control of network communication and management of application functions. Even when a load is applied, noise countermeasures can be simplified and power consumption can be reduced. Further, when the communication load of the network communication process in the first arithmetic unit is reduced, the network communication process of the first arithmetic unit is stopped, and the second arithmetic unit performs both the application execution and the network communication process. By performing the function, the power consumption is further reduced when the communication load is reduced. That is, it is possible to simplify noise countermeasures and reduce power consumption at high loads, and to further reduce power consumption at low loads.

  The invention of claim 2 comprises the application load estimation means for estimating the load amount of the application executed in the second calculation unit in claim 1, wherein the first communication threshold is executed in the second calculation unit. The first communication threshold value is decreased when the application load amount is increased, and the first communication threshold value is increased when the application load amount executed in the second arithmetic unit is decreased.

  According to the present invention, since the first communication threshold value is set according to the load amount of the application to be executed, the first calculation unit can be shifted to the sleep mode according to the remaining capacity of the second calculation unit. Thus, network communication processing by the first and second arithmetic units can be appropriately performed, and both power consumption reduction and network communication reliability can be efficiently achieved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the application load estimation unit is configured such that the first arithmetic unit is a second arithmetic unit based on a history of communication packets exchanged with the second arithmetic unit. It is configured by estimating the load amount of the application to be executed.

  According to the present invention, the application load amount to be executed is calculated as needed, so that the application load amount to be executed can be obtained with high accuracy.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the application load estimating unit is configured such that the second calculation unit estimates the load amount of the application being executed by the second calculation unit from the own operation rate. Features.

  According to the present invention, the second calculation unit that executes the application constitutes the application load estimating means, so that the application load estimating means can be easily realized.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the communication load amount of the network communication process performed by the second arithmetic unit when the first arithmetic unit stops the network communication process. 2 communication load detection means, the second calculation unit obtains a first communication threshold when the first calculation unit stops the network communication processing, and the first calculation unit stops the network communication processing When the communication load amount of the second calculation unit detected by the second communication load detection unit is higher than the acquired first communication threshold, the network communication process of the second calculation unit is performed. It stops and restarts the network communication process of a 1st calculating part.

  According to the present invention, when the communication load amount of the second arithmetic unit increases, the network communication process of the first arithmetic unit is resumed, so that the network communication process by the first and second arithmetic units is appropriately performed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently balance power consumption reduction and network communication reliability. Furthermore, since the sleep mode is canceled using the communication threshold value when the mode is shifted to the sleep mode, the processing in the second calculation unit is simplified.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to fourth aspects, the communication load amount of the network communication process performed by the second arithmetic unit when the first arithmetic unit stops the network communication process. 2 communication load detection means, and the second calculation unit communicates with the second calculation unit detected by the second communication load detection means when the first calculation unit stops the network communication process. When the load amount is higher than the second communication threshold value, the network communication process of the second calculation unit is stopped, the network communication process of the first calculation unit is restarted, and the second communication threshold value is It varies according to the load amount of the application executed in the arithmetic unit.

  According to the present invention, since the second communication threshold value is set according to the load amount of the application to be executed, the network communication process of the first calculation unit can be resumed according to the remaining capacity of the second calculation unit. Thus, network communication processing by the first and second arithmetic units can be appropriately performed, and both power consumption reduction and network communication reliability can be efficiently achieved.

  As described above, the present invention has the effects of simplifying noise countermeasures and reducing power consumption at high loads, and further reducing power consumption at low loads.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the network monitoring control apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of a household appliance management system same as the above. It is a figure which shows the structure of a VLAN group same as the above. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a COU utilization rate same as the above and a communication threshold value. It is a figure which shows another relationship between a COU utilization rate same as the above and a communication threshold value.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
In the home appliance management system used in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a controller Cn (n = 1, 2,...) Installed in a home manages (controls and monitors) the home equipment in the home. A plurality of subsystems SSn (n = 1, 2,...), A network monitoring control device 1 connected to the controller Cn of each subsystem SSn via the home network NT0, and 1 to 1 connected to the home network NT0 The information terminal 2 includes a plurality of personal computers and dedicated terminals, and the controller Cn, the device control device 1 and the information terminal 2 constitute a local area network (LAN).

  The in-home subsystem SSn includes in-home equipment Xn (n = 1, 2,...) And a controller Cn that manages the in-home equipment Xn, and between the controller Cn and the in-home equipment Xn, It is connected via a subnetwork NTn (n = 1, 2,...) Having a communication protocol different from that of the network NT0.

  The in-home device X1 in the subsystem SS1 is a TV intercom device, an electric lock, a security sensor, etc. installed in the entrance, living room, etc., and constitutes a door phone subsystem. The in-home device X2 in the subsystem SS2 is a fire alarm, a security sensor, etc. installed in the kitchen, living room, etc., and constitutes a security subsystem. The home device X3 in the subsystem SS3 is a photovoltaic power generation system, a storage battery system, and a hot water supply system, and constitutes a power subsystem. Note that the sub-networks NT1 to NT3 are each configured with a dedicated protocol.

  The controller Cn is interposed between the home network NT0 and the home device Xn, manages the home device Xn of the subsystem SSn, and performs communication protocol conversion between the home network NT0 and the subnetwork NTn. Then, when a control request message is received from a terminal such as the network monitoring control device 1 or the information terminal 2, the subordinate home device Xn is individually controlled and monitored from the terminal such as the network monitoring control device 1 or the information terminal 2. When a request message is received, the monitoring information of the subordinate home appliance Xn is individually acquired, and a control request and a response message to the monitoring request are transmitted to the terminal that is the transmission source of the request message. .

  Further, the home network NT1 is connected to the Internet NTa, which is an external network, via the router 3, and the network monitoring control device 1 is a center server CS installed in a management center of a service provider connected to the Internet NTa, By performing data communication via the Internet NTa with an external terminal GT composed of a personal computer, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), etc. that can be connected to the Internet, for example, from the outside using the external terminal GT The home appliance Xn can be managed.

  In addition, a power distribution system in the house is built by incorporating a main breaker and a branch breaker, and a distribution board 4 for generating power information in the house such as a main current and a branch current is installed in the house. 1 acquires in-house power information from the distribution board 4 connected by the dedicated line L1, and sends a request message based on the power information to the terminal through the in-home network NT0.

  In such a home appliance control system, the network monitoring and control device 1 monitors and controls communication packets transmitted on the home network NT0, and a network that integrates and manages network communication between the controller Cn, the information terminal 2, and the Internet NTa. In addition to having a communication processing function, it has an application execution function for managing the home device Xn in the subsystem SSn via the controller Cn. This application performs management of a door phone system, management of a security system, management of a power system, management of a wireless system used for communication with each subsystem SSn, and the like.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a network monitoring control device 1, which includes a calculation unit 1a (first calculation unit), a calculation unit 1b (second calculation unit), and a network processing unit 1c. , Communication interfaces 1d to 1h, and storage units 1i and 1j.

  The arithmetic units 1a and 1b are configured to include a CPU that operates at an operating frequency based on a clock signal generated by a clock generator (not shown), and the arithmetic unit 1a performs network communication processing for integrated management of network communication by the network processing unit 1c. The calculation unit 1b stores in advance each application for managing the home device Xn in the subsystem SSn via the controller Cn, and basically executes the application based on the received communication packet. As described above, by using the two arithmetic units 1a and 1b, the operation frequency of the arithmetic units 1a and 1b can be lowered as compared with the case where one arithmetic unit performs monitoring control of network communication and management of application functions. Even when the load is high, noise countermeasures can be simplified and power consumption can be reduced.

  However, when the communication load of the network communication process in the computing unit 1a is reduced, even if both the computing units 1a and 1b are operated as described above, only power is consumed wastefully. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the communication load of the network communication process in the computing unit 1a is reduced, the network communication process of the computing unit 1a is stopped, the computing unit 1a is shifted from the normal mode to the sleep mode, and the computing unit 1b. However, by performing both functions of application execution and network communication processing, when the communication load is reduced, the power consumption is further reduced.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the network monitoring control apparatus 1 which is the gist of the present invention will be described.

  First, in this system, network communication is performed using a tag VLAN. In the tag VLAN, a VLAN tag (identification number) is attached to a frame of a communication packet, and the network is virtually divided into a plurality of VLAN groups. In this embodiment, the five communication interfaces 1d to 1h are divided into a plurality of VLAN groups, and communication packets can be exchanged for each VLAN group only within the group. Further, by adding a tag to the communication packet, communication between different VLAN groups becomes possible.

  Specifically, the network processing unit 1c is configured with an Ethernet (registered trademark) switch connected to the home network NT0 via five communication interfaces 1d to 1h, and is connected to the home network NT0 via the communication interfaces 1d to 1h. Have a function of exchanging communication packets between them. Furthermore, the network processing unit 1c has a two-channel MII port, and arithmetic units 1a and 1b to which the same address is assigned as a unique MAC address (terminal identification information) are connected to each MII port. The network communication by the network processing unit 1c is monitored and controlled by the calculation unit 1a or the calculation unit 1b, and communication packets are also exchanged between the calculation units 1a and 1b via the network processing unit 1c.

  Each of the five communication interfaces 1d to 1h belongs to one of the VLAN groups, and the arithmetic units 1a and 1b also belong to each VLAN group. Furthermore, a VLAN group to which only the computing unit 1a and the computing unit 1b belong is also created for exchanging communication packets between the computing units 1a-1b. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 3, VLAN group G1 [communication interfaces 1d, 1e, arithmetic units 1a, 1b], VLAN group G2 [communication interfaces 1f, 1g, 1h, arithmetic units 1a, 1b], VLAN The group is G3 [calculation units 1a, 1b].

  Each of the controller Cn and the information terminal 2 is given a unique MAC address (terminal identification information), and the transmission source and transmission are performed using any one of the five communication interfaces 1d to 1h. A communication packet to which the previous MAC address is assigned is transmitted.

  The network processing unit 1c stores the VLAN group information (VLAN group information) shown in FIG. 3, and the network processing unit 1c receives a communication packet via the communication interface 1d belonging to the VLAN group G1, for example. In this case, the communication packet is transmitted to the terminals in the VLAN group G1 by transferring the communication packet from another communication interface 1e belonging to the VLAN group G1. However, when there is no transmission destination terminal in the VLAN group G1, the network processing unit 1c transmits a communication packet in which the tag T1 corresponding to the VLAN group G1 subjected to the transfer process is set to the calculation units 1a and 1b.

  Here, the calculation unit 1a also operates as a first communication load detection unit that detects the communication load amount of its own network communication processing, and the network processing unit 1c includes the communication load amount detection processing by the calculation unit 1a. The packet counter (not shown) counts the communication amount of all communication packets exchanged with the home network NT0 via the communication interfaces 1d to 1h, and the arithmetic unit 1a accesses the network processing unit 1c at a constant cycle. Thus, the calculation is performed by calculating the communication load amount of the computing unit 1a from the difference between the communication amount at the previous access and the communication amount at the current access.

  Furthermore, the storage unit 1i stores a communication load amount threshold value K1 (first communication threshold value). When the communication load amount of the calculation unit 1a is higher than the communication threshold value K1, the calculation unit 1a is in the normal mode. Perform network communication processing. The arithmetic unit 1a and the arithmetic unit 1b are electrically connected by communication means for performing serial communication or the like, and the arithmetic unit 1a outputs a normal mode signal to the arithmetic unit 1b and receives the normal mode signal. The unit 1b does not perform network communication processing, but only executes applications. When the communication load amount of the calculation unit 1a is equal to or less than the communication threshold K1, the calculation unit 1a stops the network communication process and shifts to the sleep mode, and outputs a sleep mode signal to the calculation unit 1b. The computing unit 1b that receives the message starts network communication processing and performs both network communication processing and application execution.

  First, when the communication load amount of the computing unit 1a is higher than the communication threshold K1 and the computing unit 1a performs network communication processing in the normal mode, the computing unit 1a responds to the communication packet of the tag T1 received from the network processing unit 1c. If the destination MAC address set in the received communication packet is different from its own MAC address, the tag of the communication packet is changed from the tag T1 of the VLAN group G1 to the tag T2 of another VLAN group G2. To be transmitted to the network processing unit 1c. The network processing unit 1c transmits the communication packet to the terminals in the VLAN group G2 by transferring the communication packet from the communication interfaces 1f, 1g, and 1h belonging to the VLAN group G2. When there are three or more VLAN groups including the communication interface, the tag replacement process is sequentially performed for each VLAN group until a transmission destination terminal is found.

  In addition, when the MAC address of the transmission destination set in the communication packet received from the network processing unit 1c matches the MAC address of the calculation unit 1a, the calculation unit 1a transfers the communication packet to the calculation unit 1b. The application is executed based on the communication packet received from the calculation unit 1a. When the communication packet is transferred from the calculation unit 1a to the calculation unit 1b, the calculation unit 1a changes the tag of the communication packet from the tag T1 of the VLAN group G1 to the tag T3 of the VLAN group G3, and the network processing unit 1c. The network processing unit 1c transfers the communication packet to the calculation unit 1b belonging to the VLAN group G3.

  As described above, when the communication load of the network communication process in the calculation unit 1a is large, the calculation unit 1a performs the network communication process, the calculation unit 1b executes the application, and performs the network communication process and the application execution. It is shared by two computing units.

  On the other hand, when the communication load amount of the calculation unit 1a becomes equal to or less than the communication threshold value K1, the calculation unit 1a stops the network communication process and shifts to the sleep mode, and the calculation unit 1b starts the network communication process, the calculation unit 1b However, the network communication processing is performed according to the communication packet of the tag T1 received from the network processing unit 1c, and when the transmission destination MAC address set in the received communication packet is different from the own MAC address, The tag is changed from the tag T1 of the VLAN group G1 to the tag T2 of another VLAN group G2, and transmitted to the network processing unit 1c. The network processing unit 1c transmits the communication packet to the terminals in the VLAN group G2 by transferring the communication packet from the communication interfaces 1f, 1g, and 1h belonging to the VLAN group G2. When there are three or more VLAN groups including the communication interface, the tag replacement process is sequentially performed for each VLAN group until a transmission destination terminal is found.

  In addition, when the MAC address of the transmission destination set in the communication packet received from the network processing unit 1c matches the own MAC address, the arithmetic unit 1b executes the application based on the received communication packet.

  As described above, when the communication load of the network communication process in the computing unit 1a is reduced, the network communication process of the computing unit 1a is stopped, and the computing unit 1b performs both functions of application execution and network communication processing. Thus, when the communication load is reduced, the power consumption is further reduced.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the communication threshold value K1 is varied according to the load amount of the application executed by the computing unit 1b (represented by the CPU usage rate). Specifically, load amount information of each application executed by the calculation unit 1b is stored in the storage unit 1i in advance, and the calculation unit 1a in the normal mode acquires information on each application executed from the calculation unit 1b. Thus, by reading each load amount information corresponding to the application to be executed from the storage unit 1i, the total load amount of the application to be executed in the calculation unit 1b is estimated (application load estimating means). And the calculating part 1a fluctuates the communication threshold value K1 based on the said estimation result. If the load of the application to be executed increases, the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing decreases. If the communication threshold K1 is reduced and the load of the application to be executed decreases, it is used for network communication processing. Assuming that the remaining capacity of the possible computing unit 1b has increased, the communication threshold value K1 is increased.

  For example, it is assumed that the load amount of the application is represented by the CPU usage rate of the calculation unit 1b, and the communication load amount 1 Mbps of the network communication processing corresponds to the CPU usage rate 1%. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, when the CPU usage rate of the computing unit 1b by the application to be executed is 60%, the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing is 40%, and the communication threshold value K1a = 40 Mbps. Set to From this state, when the CPU usage rate of the computing unit 1b by the application to be executed is reduced to 40%, the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing is 60%, and the communication threshold value K1b = 60 Mbps.

  Therefore, since the communication threshold value K1 according to the load amount of the application to be executed is set, the calculation unit 1a can be shifted to the sleep mode according to the remaining capacity of the calculation unit 1b, and the calculation units 1a and 1b Network communication processing can be performed appropriately, and power consumption suppression and network communication reliability can both be achieved efficiently. Furthermore, by storing the load amount information of each application in the storage unit 1i in advance, the application load amount to be executed can be estimated by a simple process.

  Note that the load amount information of each application stored in the storage unit 1i can be downloaded from the center server CS via the Internet NTa, and a new version of the application is downloaded from the center server CS every time the application is upgraded. Further, when the application is downloaded, the load amount information of the application is downloaded at the same time, and the load amount information in the storage unit 1i is also updated.

  Next, an operation when the sleep mode of the calculation unit 1a is canceled will be described.

  First, when the computing unit 1a is in the sleep mode, the computing unit 1b also operates as a second communication load detecting unit that detects the communication load amount of its own network communication processing. Similar to the communication load amount detection processing of the calculation unit 1a, the network processing unit 1c is accessed at a constant period, and the communication of the calculation unit 1b is determined from the difference between the communication amount at the previous access and the communication amount at the current access. This is done by calculating the load amount. Further, the calculation unit 1b acquires the communication threshold value K1 when the calculation unit 1a stops the network communication process and shifts to the sleep mode from the calculation unit 1a, and stores the communication threshold value K1 in the storage unit 1j. When the communication load amount is higher than the communication threshold value K1 at the time of transition to the sleep mode, the calculation unit 1b stops the network communication process and outputs a sleep release signal to the calculation unit 1a using, for example, serial communication and receives the sleep release signal. The computing unit 1a shifts to the normal mode and restarts the network communication process. When the communication load amount of the calculation unit 1b is equal to or less than the communication threshold value K1 at the time of transition to the sleep mode, the calculation unit 1b continues the network communication process, and the calculation unit 1a maintains the sleep mode.

  Therefore, when the communication load amount of the computing unit 1b increases, the sleep mode of the computing unit 1a is canceled, so that network communication processing by the computing units 1a and 1b can be performed appropriately, power consumption is reduced, and network communication is reliable. Efficiency. Furthermore, since the sleep mode is canceled using the communication threshold value K1 when the mode is shifted to the sleep mode, the processing in the calculation unit 1b is simplified.

  The communication threshold value K1 may be set to a predetermined value in advance based on the maximum load amount when the application is executed in the calculation unit 1b, thereby simplifying the setting process of the communication threshold value K1. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, when the CPU maximum usage rate at the time of application execution in the computing unit 1b is 60%, the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing is 40%, and the communication threshold value K1 = It is set to a constant value of 40 Mbps.

(Embodiment 2)
In the present embodiment, the configuration of the application load estimation unit is different from that of the first embodiment. The same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The application load estimation means of the present embodiment is configured by the normal mode calculation unit 1a estimating the load amount of an application executed by the calculation unit 1b according to the history of communication packets exchanged with the calculation unit 1b. Is done.

  First, the calculation unit 1a calculates the total of the communication amount of the communication packet transferred from the calculation unit 1a to the calculation unit 1b and the communication amount of the communication packet received by the calculation unit 1a from the calculation unit 1b at regular time intervals. The history of the calculation result of the traffic is stored in the storage unit 1i. Then, the calculation unit 1a calculates the communication amount of the calculation unit 1b from the difference between the current communication amount and the previous communication amount. Then, by determining that the load amount of the application executed by the calculation unit 1b is larger as the communication amount of the calculation unit 1b is larger, the load amount of the application executed by the calculation unit 1b is estimated. For example, when the load amount of the application is represented by the CPU usage rate of the calculation unit 1b, if the communication amount of the calculation unit 1b is 20 Mbps, the CPU usage rate of the calculation unit 1b is estimated to be 20%, and the calculation unit 1b Is 60 Mbps, the CPU usage rate of the computing unit 1b is estimated to be 60%. And the calculating part 1a is changing the communication threshold value K1 based on the said estimation result, and when the load amount of the application to execute increases, the remaining capacity of the calculating part 1b which can be used for a network communication process reduces, When the communication threshold K1 is reduced and the load amount of the application to be executed is reduced, the communication threshold K1 is increased on the assumption that the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing has increased.

  Therefore, since the communication threshold value K1 according to the load amount of the application to be executed is set, the calculation unit 1a can be shifted to the sleep mode according to the remaining capacity of the calculation unit 1b, and the calculation units 1a and 1b Network communication processing can be performed appropriately, and power consumption suppression and network communication reliability can both be achieved efficiently. Furthermore, since the application load amount to be executed is calculated as needed, the application load amount to be executed can be obtained with high accuracy.

(Embodiment 3)
This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in the configuration of the application load estimation means by the network monitoring and control apparatus 1, and the same components as those in the first or second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. To do.

  In the first and second embodiments, the calculation unit 1a constitutes an application load estimation unit. In the present embodiment, the calculation unit 1b constitutes an application load estimation unit.

  For example, the calculation unit 1b monitors its CPU usage rate when the calculation unit 1a is operating in the normal mode, and estimates this CPU usage rate as the total load amount of the application being executed. Then, the calculation unit 1a varies the communication threshold value K1 based on the estimation result, and when the load amount of the application being executed increases, the remaining capacity of the calculation unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing decreases. As the communication threshold K1 is decreased and the load amount of the application being executed is decreased, the communication threshold K1 is increased on the assumption that the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing has increased.

  Therefore, since the calculation unit 1b that executes the application constitutes the application load estimation unit, the application load estimation unit can be easily realized.

(Embodiment 4)
In this embodiment, the operation when the sleep mode of the computing unit 1a is canceled is different from those in the first to third embodiments. The same components as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and are not described. Omitted.

  First, the communication threshold value K2 is stored in the storage unit 1j of the present embodiment. When the calculation unit 1a is in the sleep mode, the calculation unit 1b compares the communication load amount of itself with the communication threshold value K2, and calculates It is determined whether to cancel the sleep mode of the unit 1a. When the communication load amount of the computing unit 1b is higher than the communication threshold K2, the computing unit 1b stops the network communication process and outputs a sleep release signal to the computing unit 1a using, for example, serial communication, and receives the sleep release signal. The computing unit 1a shifts to the normal mode and restarts the network communication process. When the communication load amount of the calculation unit 1b is equal to or less than the communication threshold K2, the calculation unit 1b continues the network communication process, and the calculation unit 1a maintains the sleep mode.

  Further, the calculation unit 1b estimates the load amount of the application being executed by the method described in the third embodiment, and varies the communication threshold value K2 according to the load amount of the application being executed. That is, if the load amount of the application being executed increases, the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for network communication processing decreases, and if the communication threshold K2 is reduced and the load amount of the application being executed decreases, the network Assuming that the remaining capacity of the computing unit 1b that can be used for communication processing has increased, the communication threshold value K2 is increased.

  Therefore, since the communication threshold value K2 is set according to the load amount of the application being executed, the sleep mode of the calculation unit 1a can be canceled according to the remaining capacity of the calculation unit 1b, and the calculation units 1a and 1b. Network communication processing can be performed appropriately, and power consumption can be efficiently reduced and network communication reliability can be achieved efficiently.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network monitoring and control apparatus 1a Arithmetic unit 1b Arithmetic unit 1c Network processing unit 1d-1h Communication interface 1i, 1j Storage unit

Claims (6)

A network monitoring and control device provided in a network for transmitting a communication packet including identification information of a destination,
A first computing unit that performs network communication processing for exchanging communication packets through the network based on identification information of a transmission destination that is given predetermined identification information and received from a communication packet received from the network; A second calculation unit that executes the application, and a first communication load detection unit that detects a communication load amount of the network communication processing performed by the first calculation unit,
When the communication load amount of the first calculation unit detected by the first communication load detection means is higher than the first communication threshold, the first calculation unit performs network communication processing, and the first calculation unit receives When the identification information of the destination included in the communication packet is different from its own identification information, the received communication packet is transmitted through the network, and when the identification information of the destination included in the received communication packet is the same as its own identification information, The received communication packet is transmitted to the second calculation unit, and the second calculation unit executes the application according to the communication packet from the first calculation unit,
When the communication load amount of the first calculation unit detected by the first communication load detection means is equal to or less than the first communication threshold value, the first calculation unit stops the network communication process, and the second calculation unit performs network communication. When the transmission destination identification information included in the received communication packet is different from its own identification information, the second arithmetic unit transmits the received communication packet through the network, and the transmission included in the received communication packet. A network monitoring and control apparatus, wherein an application is executed according to a received communication packet when the previous identification information is the same as its own identification information.   Application load estimating means for estimating a load amount of an application to be executed in the second calculation unit is provided, and the first communication threshold value is determined by the first communication when the load amount of the application to be executed in the second calculation unit increases. The network monitoring control device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication threshold value is increased when the threshold value is decreased and a load amount of an application executed in the second arithmetic unit is decreased.   The application load estimating means is configured such that the first calculation unit estimates a load amount of an application executed by the second calculation unit based on a history of communication packets exchanged with the second calculation unit. The network monitoring and control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein   3. The network monitoring and control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the application load estimating means is configured such that the second calculation unit estimates the load amount of the application being executed by itself from the own operation rate. . A second communication load detecting means for detecting a communication load amount of the network communication process performed by the second calculation unit when the first calculation unit stops the network communication process;
The second computing unit obtains a first communication threshold when the first computing unit stops the network communication process, and the second computing unit receives the second communication threshold when the first computing unit stops the network communication process. When the communication load amount of the second calculation unit detected by the communication load detection means is higher than the acquired first communication threshold, the network calculation process of the second calculation unit is stopped, and the first calculation unit 5. The network monitoring control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network communication processing is resumed. A second communication load detecting means for detecting a communication load amount of the network communication process performed by the second calculation unit when the first calculation unit stops the network communication process;
The second computing unit is configured such that the communication load amount of the second computing unit detected by the second communication load detecting unit is greater than the second communication threshold when the first computing unit stops the network communication process. When it becomes high, the network communication process of the second calculation unit is stopped, the network communication process of the first calculation unit is restarted,
The network monitoring control device according to claim 2, wherein the second communication threshold varies according to a load amount of an application executed in the second arithmetic unit.

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