JP2011253285A - Diagnosis system, diagnosis apparatus, and diagnosis program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily diagnose hardware faults on an information processor.SOLUTION: A diagnosis apparatus includes: a first interface 14 that is connected to a first communication path and corresponds to a communication mode of the first communication path; a second interface 15 that is connected to a second communication path and corresponds to a communication mode of the second communication path; transmission means 11 for transmitting first diagnosis signals through the first interface and transmitting second diagnosis signals through the second interface to an information processor; reception means 12 for receiving second response signals corresponding to the second diagnosis signals through the first interface and receiving first response signals corresponding to the first diagnosis signals through the second interface from the information processor; and determination means 13 for determining faults on the information processor according to a reception state of the first response signals and the second response signals.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a diagnosis system, a diagnosis apparatus, and a diagnosis program for diagnosing a hardware failure of an information processing apparatus.

  For execution of processing in an information processing apparatus, data transmitted / received to / from other information processing apparatuses is often used. Such an information processing apparatus diagnoses in advance whether communication with another information processing apparatus is possible, or diagnoses which information processing apparatus has failed when an abnormality occurs in communication. For example, as a method of diagnosing the information processing apparatus, there is a method of transmitting test data from the diagnosis apparatus to the information processing apparatus and confirming whether or not there is a response.

  Here, when the structure of the information processing apparatus is made to correspond to the physical layer (first layer) to the application layer (seventh layer) of the OSI reference model, the test data used for diagnosis of the information processing apparatus is from the physical layer. Data transmitted from the physical layer to the application layer or the configuration corresponding to the network layer (third layer). In the following, the physical layer and data link layer (second layer) of the OSI reference model are assumed to be the hardware level, and the network layer to the application layer are assumed to be the software level.

  In the case of the diagnostic apparatus that diagnoses the information processing apparatus by transmitting the test data for diagnosis described above, the hardware level and the software level are diagnosed at the same time. Therefore, if the information processing device is determined to be faulty by failure diagnosis, it can be confirmed that the information processing device is in a state where communication is impossible, but whether the failure exists at the hardware level or the software level is specified. I can't do it. Further, in order to identify whether there is a failure at the hardware level or a failure at the software level, it was necessary to individually perform various inspections thereafter.

Japanese Patent No. 3271676 Japanese Patent No. 4333784 Japanese Patent No. 4131210 Japanese Patent No. 4333784 Japanese Patent No. 4199243

  In the above-described failure diagnosis of the information processing apparatus, the hardware and software are diagnosed at the same time, so the failure location cannot be specified, and other various approaches are used to specify the failure location. Individual inspections were necessary.

  Therefore, the present embodiment provides a diagnostic system, a diagnostic device, and a diagnostic program for easily diagnosing a hardware failure of an information processing device.

  The diagnostic system according to the embodiment is a diagnostic system in which a diagnostic device and an information processing device that is a diagnostic target of the diagnostic device are connected via a first communication path and a second communication path, and the diagnostic apparatus includes: A first interface connected to the first communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the first communication path; a second interface connected to the second communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the second communication path; Transmitting means for transmitting a first diagnostic signal to the information processing apparatus via the first interface and transmitting a second diagnostic signal via the second interface; from the information processing apparatus to the first interface; Receiving a second response signal for the second diagnostic signal via the second interface and receiving a first response signal for the first diagnostic signal via the second interface And a determination means for determining a failure of the information processing device according to a reception state of the first response signal and the second response signal, wherein the information processing device is connected to the first communication path, and A third interface corresponding to a communication scheme of one communication path, a fourth interface connected to the second communication path and corresponding to a transmission scheme of the second communication path, and a first diagnostic signal transmitted from the diagnostic device Response means for transmitting a first response signal when transmitting a second response signal and transmitting a second response signal when transmitting a second diagnostic signal.

It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the diagnostic system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure explaining the signal transmitted / received by the diagnostic system shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the table for determination utilized with the diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. It is the schematic explaining the other example of a diagnostic apparatus.

<Diagnostic system>
Below, the diagnostic system which concerns on embodiment is demonstrated using drawing. As shown in FIG. 1, in the diagnostic system 1, a diagnostic device 10 and an information processing device 20 that is a diagnosis target of the diagnostic device 10 are connected. Specifically, the diagnosis apparatus 10 is connected to the information processing apparatus 20 via the first communication path N1 and the second communication path N2 when diagnosing a failure of the information processing apparatus 20.

  The first communication path N1 is a communication path used when the information processing apparatus 20 transmits / receives data to / from another information processing apparatus (not shown). For example, when an abnormality occurs in communication between the information processing apparatus 20 and another information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus 20 is connected to the first communication path N1 in order to diagnose whether the information processing apparatus 20 has failed. The diagnostic apparatus 10 is connected via two communication paths, the second communication path N2, which is a communication path different from the first communication path N1. Here, the first communication path N1 is a communication path corresponding to a communication standard (for example, Ethernet (registered trademark)) defined by the physical layer and the data link layer of the OSI reference model.

  Further, the second communication path N2 is a path different from the first communication path N1, and regardless of the communication method, in addition to Ethernet (registered trademark), RS-232C, RS-422A, HDLC, V. This is a communication path using a hardware interface of a standard such as 23. The first communication path N1 and the second communication path N2 may be wired wireless as long as they are standards that can establish communication between a plurality of devices.

《Diagnostic device》
The diagnosis device 10 transmits a first diagnosis signal via the first communication path to diagnose the information processing device 20, and transmits a second diagnosis signal via the second communication path; A second response signal for the second diagnostic signal is received from the information processing apparatus 20 via the first communication path N1, and a first response signal for the first diagnostic signal is received from the information processing apparatus 20 via the second communication path N2. Receiving means 12 and determining means 13 for determining the presence or absence of a failure of the information processing apparatus 20 according to the reception states of the first response signal and the second response signal are provided.

  The diagnostic apparatus 10 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) equipped with a CPU and a storage device. The diagnostic program P1 stored in the storage device is installed, so that the transmission means 11 and the reception are received in the CPU. Functions necessary for diagnosis such as the means 12 and the determination means 13 are implemented.

  In addition, the diagnostic device 10 includes a first interface (first I / F) 14 used for transmission / reception of signals via the first communication path N1, and a second communication according to a communication standard corresponding to the first communication path N1. A second interface (second I / F) 15 used for signal transmission / reception via the second communication path N2 is provided according to the communication standard corresponding to the path N2. Here, since the second I / F 15 depends on the communication standard of the second communication path N2 used by the information processing apparatus 20 to be diagnosed, the second I / F 15 does not necessarily have to be built in the diagnosis apparatus 10, and information on the diagnosis object When the processing device 20 is determined, an interface corresponding to the communication standard used by the information processing device 20 to be diagnosed may be connected.

《Information processing device》
The information processing apparatus 20 is also an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) including a CPU and a storage device, and is connected to the first communication path N1 according to the communication standard corresponding to the first communication path N1. An interface (third I / F) 21 and a fourth interface (fourth I / F) 22 connected to the second communication path N2 according to the communication standard corresponding to the second communication path N2 are provided.

  When failure diagnosis is executed when an abnormality occurs in communication with another information processing apparatus, the diagnostic program P2 stored in the storage device is installed, and the receiving unit 23 and the response unit 24 are installed in the CPU. Is done. Here, the diagnostic program P2 used for the diagnosis does not necessarily need to be stored in advance in a storage device built in the information processing apparatus 20, but is stored in a storage device such as a CD-ROM or a USB memory when executing the diagnosis. The stored diagnostic program P2 may be installed.

  The receiving means 23 implemented by installing the diagnostic program P2 receives the diagnostic signal transmitted from the diagnostic device 10. The response unit 24 transmits a response signal in response to the diagnostic signal received by the receiving unit 23.

<Diagnosis processing>
Hereinafter, the diagnosis process in the diagnosis system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, at the time of diagnosis, the transmission unit 11 of the diagnostic device 10 transmits a first diagnostic signal via the first I / F 14. The first diagnostic signal is received by the receiving unit 23 of the information processing apparatus 20 via the first communication path N1 and the third I / F 21. When the receiving unit 23 receives the first diagnostic signal, the response unit 24 transmits a first response signal corresponding to the first diagnostic signal via the fourth I / F 22. The first response signal is received by the receiving unit 12 of the diagnostic device 10 via the second communication path N2 and the second I / F 15.

  In addition, the transmission unit 11 of the diagnostic apparatus 10 transmits a second diagnostic signal via the second I / F 15 at the time of diagnosis. The second diagnostic signal is received by the receiving unit 23 via the second communication path N2 and the fourth I / F 22. When the receiving unit 23 receives the second diagnostic signal, the response unit 24 transmits a second response signal corresponding to the second diagnostic signal via the third I / F 21. The second response signal is received by the receiving unit 12 via the first communication path N1 and the first I / F 14.

  As described above, the first communication path N1 is a communication path of a communication standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark) defined at the hardware level (physical layer and data link layer of the OSI reference model). Therefore, the signals (the first diagnosis signal and the second response signal) transmitted through the first communication path N1 are signals that satisfy this communication standard, and are processed by functions corresponding to this hardware level. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the response unit 24 transmits a response signal when the receiving unit 23 receives a diagnostic signal. However, if the transmission / reception function of the third I / F 21 or the fourth I / F 22 is broken, The device 10 cannot receive a response signal. Therefore, in the diagnostic device 10, the determination unit 13 determines the state of the information processing device 20 according to the reception state of the response signal of the reception unit 12. Note that the diagnosis device 10 is assumed to operate without any abnormality when starting the diagnosis process. Therefore, if there is an abnormality in the reception of the response signal, a failure of the information processing device 20 that is a diagnosis target is the cause. Infer.

  For example, the determination unit 13 determines the state of the information processing apparatus 20 using a determination table as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 3, when the receiving unit 12 receives the first response signal and the second response signal, the determination unit 13 has a normal reception function and transmission function of the third I / F 21, and the fourth I / F 22. It is determined that the reception function and the transmission function are normal. In this case, each I / F 21, 21 is considered to be operating normally. Therefore, when the information processing device 20 has an abnormality in communication with another information processing device, the determination unit 13 determines that the abnormality is not a hardware level failure but a software level failure or other error. It is estimated that the cause is a failure of the information processing apparatus.

  Further, when the receiving unit 12 receives the first response signal but does not receive the second response signal, it can be determined that there is a problem in the path of the second diagnostic signal or the second response signal. Therefore, the determination means 13 is normal in the reception function of the third I / F 21 and the transmission function of the fourth I / F 22, and the failure is caused by the failure of the reception function of the fourth I / F 22 or the transmission function of the third I / F 21. Estimated.

  Furthermore, when the receiving unit 12 receives the second response signal but does not receive the first response signal, it can be determined that there is a problem in the path of the first diagnostic signal or the first response signal. Therefore, the determination means 13 is normal in the reception function of the fourth I / F 22 and the transmission function of the third I / F 21, and the failure is caused by the failure of the reception function of the third I / F 21 or the transmission function of the fourth I / F. Estimated.

  When the receiving means 12 receives neither the first response signal nor the second response signal, the determination means 13 fails in all of the reception function and transmission function of the third I / F 21 and the reception function and transmission function of the fourth I / F 22. It can be determined that there is a suspicion. Therefore, the determination means 13 does.

  That is, when the reception unit 12 does not receive at least one of the first response signal and the second response signal, the determination unit 13 estimates that the information processing apparatus 20 has a hardware level failure. On the other hand, when the reception unit 12 receives the first response signal and the second response signal, the determination unit estimates that the information processing apparatus 20 has no failure at the hardware level.

  Here, for example, the first diagnostic signal and the second diagnostic signal transmitted by the transmission unit 11 of the diagnostic apparatus 10 are simple data such as “010101”, respectively, and are transmitted by the response unit 24 of the information processing apparatus 20. Similar data such as “010101” can be used for the first response signal and the second response signal. When the determination unit 13 does not receive a response signal, when it does not receive an expected response signal, that is, when the response signal is defined as “010101”, the data of “010101” cannot be received. In addition, it is determined that the response signal cannot be received when data having changed such as “010101” such as “000000” is received.

  As described above, information processing is performed by transmitting and receiving diagnostic signals and response signals in a data format processed by functions corresponding to the physical layer and data link layer using different interfaces 20 and 21 and communication paths N1 and N2. It is possible to determine whether or not the device 20 has a hardware level failure and to estimate a specific location of the failure. That is, according to the diagnostic device 10 described above, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a failure in the functions corresponding to the physical layer and the data link layer of the information processing device 20, and to estimate the failure location.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the diagnostic device 10 is a single device, but as illustrated in FIG. 4, the server device 10 a, the client device 10 b, the server device 10 a and the information processing device 20 to be diagnosed are relayed. You may be comprised by several apparatuses, such as HUB10c which is an apparatus. When the diagnostic device 10 is configured as shown in FIG. 4, the server device 10a has functions corresponding to the transmission unit 11, the reception unit 12, and the determination unit 13, and the client device 10b receives the function from the server device 10a. A transfer means for transferring a signal to the information processing apparatus 20 and a signal received from the information processing apparatus 20 to the server apparatus 10a and an interface corresponding to the second I / F 15 are provided. The interface corresponding to the first I / F 14 is provided in the HUB 10c, but the server device 10a and the client device 10b are also provided with an interface used for communication between the server device 10a, the client device 10b, and the HUB 10c.

  In the diagnostic apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4, the server apparatus 10a transmits a first diagnostic signal via the HUB 10c and the first communication path N1, and receives a first response signal via the second communication path N2 and the client apparatus 10b. . Further, the server device 10a transmits the second diagnostic signal via the client device 10b and the second communication path N2, and receives the second response signal via the first communication path N1 and the HUB 10c. As a result, the diagnostic apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4 can also determine whether or not the information processing apparatus 20 has a malfunction in the functions corresponding to the physical layer and the data link layer, and estimate the failure location.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Diagnostic apparatus 1a ... Server apparatus 1b ... Client apparatus 1c ... HUB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Transmission means 11 ... Reception means 12 ... Determination means 13 ... 1st interface (1st I / F)
14 ... 2nd interface (2nd I / F)
2. Information processing device 20. Third interface (third I / F)
21 ... Fourth interface (fourth I / F)
22 ... Receiving means 23 ... Response means

Claims (5)

A diagnostic system in which a diagnostic device and an information processing device to be diagnosed by the diagnostic device are connected via a first communication path and a second communication path,
The diagnostic device comprises:
A first interface connected to the first communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the first communication path;
A second interface connected to the second communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the second communication path;
Transmitting means for transmitting a first diagnostic signal to the information processing apparatus via the first interface and transmitting a second diagnostic signal via the second interface;
Receiving means for receiving, from the information processing apparatus, a second response signal for the second diagnostic signal via the first interface, and receiving a first response signal for the first diagnostic signal via the second interface; ,
Determination means for determining a failure of the information processing device according to the reception state of the first response signal and the second response signal;
The information processing apparatus includes:
A third interface connected to the first communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the first communication path;
A fourth interface connected to the second communication path and corresponding to the transmission method of the second communication path;
A diagnostic system comprising: response means for transmitting a first response signal when transmitting the first diagnostic signal transmitted from the diagnostic device; and transmitting a second response signal when transmitting the second diagnostic signal. A diagnostic apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus to be diagnosed via a first communication path and a second communication path,
A first interface connected to the first communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the first communication path;
A second interface connected to the second communication path and corresponding to the communication method of the second communication path;
Transmitting means for transmitting a first diagnostic signal to the information processing apparatus via the first interface and transmitting a second diagnostic signal via the second interface;
Receiving means for receiving, from the information processing apparatus, a second response signal for the second diagnostic signal via the first interface, and receiving a first response signal for the first diagnostic signal via the second interface; ,
Determining means for determining a failure of the information processing device according to a reception state of the first response signal and the second response signal;
A diagnostic apparatus comprising: The diagnostic signal and the response signal are in a format processed by hardware of the information processing apparatus,
The determination means includes
When the first response signal and the second response signal are received, it is determined that there is no failure in the hardware of the information processing device,
The diagnostic device according to claim 2, wherein when at least one of the first response signal and the second response signal is not received, the hardware of the information processing device is determined to have a possibility of failure. The determination means includes
When the receiving means receives the first response signal and does not receive the second response signal, it determines that there is a possibility of failure in transmission of the first interface or reception of the second interface;
When the receiving means receives the second response signal and does not receive the first response signal, it determines that there is a possibility of failure in reception of the first interface or transmission of the second interface;
When the receiving means does not receive the first response signal and the second response signal, it is determined that there is a possibility of failure in transmission / reception of the first interface and transmission / reception of the second interface;
The diagnosis according to claim 3, wherein when the receiving means receives the first response signal and the second response signal, it is determined that there is no failure in transmission / reception of the first interface and transmission / reception of the second interface. apparatus. A diagnostic program used in a diagnostic apparatus connected to an information processing apparatus that is a diagnosis target via a first communication path and a second communication path,
Transmitting a first diagnostic signal to the information processing apparatus via a first interface corresponding to a communication method of a first communication path to be connected;
Transmitting a second diagnostic signal to the information processing apparatus via a second interface corresponding to a communication method of a second communication path to be connected;
Receiving a second response signal for the second diagnostic signal from the information processing apparatus via the first interface;
Receiving a first response signal for the first diagnostic signal from the information processing apparatus via the second interface;
Determining a failure of the information processing device according to the reception state of the first response signal and the second response signal;
A diagnostic program for causing a computer to execute.

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