JP2012015732A - Communication device, terminal communication device, remote setting system and remote setting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need for a maintenance person to perform initial setting on site every time a communication device is newly installed.SOLUTION: A communication device of this invention is connected to a network management server and connected on the upper side to a plurality of terminal communication devices through a network. The communication device includes a communication unit that communicates with the terminal communication device, a detection unit that detects a new terminal communication device connected to the network, and a setting unit that transmits setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device detected by the detection unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for remotely setting a device connected via a network.

  When newly installing a terminal-side communication device such as a network-connected router or L2 switch, a maintenance person went to the installation location and manually performed initial setting of the device. On the other hand, a technique is known in which an IP address is automatically assigned from a DHCP server when a final terminal such as a personal computer is connected to a network (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-43541 A

  However, conventionally, a maintenance person has to perform an initial setting on site every time a new communication device is installed, and there is a problem that much labor and cost are required. In addition, in the case of a communication device in the middle of a network such as a router or switch, not a final terminal device such as a personal computer, there is a problem that it is not possible to distinguish between a control frame for setting and a user frame flowing in-band. . For this reason, it is necessary to provide a monitoring control network that is independent of the network that transmits and receives user frames in the out-band, and to transmit and receive setting control frames.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus newly installed by giving an identification ID for transmitting and receiving a control frame when transmitting and receiving a control frame for setting and a user frame in-band. To provide a communication device, a terminal communication device, a remote setting system, and a remote setting method capable of automatically detecting a terminal and remotely performing initial setting and the like.

  A communication device according to claim 1 is connected to a network management server, and in a higher-level communication device connected to a plurality of terminal communication devices via a network, a communication unit that communicates with the terminal communication device; A detection unit that detects that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network; and a setting unit that transmits setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device detected by the detection unit. It is characterized by.

  The communication apparatus according to claim 2 is the communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit periodically broadcasts a connection confirmation message with a frame of an identification ID preset in the network via the communication unit. Transmitting and detecting that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network by receiving a connection response message for the connection confirmation message, and the setting unit receives the setting information received from the network management server. It transmits to the said terminal communication apparatus by the flame | frame of the said identification ID, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  A terminal communication device according to claim 3 is a terminal communication device connected to the communication device according to claim 2 via the network, and a terminal communication unit that communicates with the communication device, and the terminal communication A terminal control unit that transmits the connection response message to the communication device in the frame of the identification ID when the connection confirmation message is received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication device via the unit; It is characterized by having.

  The terminal communication device according to claim 4 is the terminal communication device according to claim 3, wherein the terminal control unit receives the setting information received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication device via the terminal communication unit. It is characterized in that the setting of its own device is performed.

  The remote setting system according to claim 5 includes a network management server, a higher-level communication device connected to the network management server, and a plurality of terminal communication devices connected to the communication device via a network. In the remote setting system for remotely setting the terminal communication device newly connected to the network from the network management server and the upper communication device, the upper communication device is connected to the terminal communication device. A communication unit that performs communication between the network management server, a detection unit that detects that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network, and setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device detected by the detection unit. And a detection unit configured to transmit the identification I set in advance to the network via the communication unit. A connection confirmation message is periodically broadcasted in a frame of, and it is detected whether a new terminal communication device is connected to the network by receiving a connection response message for the connection confirmation message. The terminal communication unit transmits the setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device in the frame of the identification ID, and the terminal communication device communicates with the communication device, and the terminal communication unit A terminal control unit that transmits the connection response message to the communication device in the frame of the identification ID when the connection confirmation message is received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication device via And the terminal control unit receives the identification I from the communication device via the terminal communication unit. And performing setting of the own device by using the setting information received in the frame.

  The remote setting method according to claim 6 includes a network management server, a higher-level communication device connected to the network management server, and a plurality of terminal communication devices connected to the communication device via a network. In the remote setting method for remotely setting the terminal communication device newly connected to the network from the network management server and the higher-level communication device, the higher-level communication device includes the terminal communication device. A procedure for periodically broadcasting a connection confirmation message with a frame of an identification ID preset in the network via a communication unit that communicates with the network, and whether to receive a connection response message for the connection confirmation message To detect that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network And a procedure for transmitting the setting information received from the network management server to the detected terminal communication device in a frame of the identification ID, and the terminal communication device performs communication with the communication device. A step of transmitting the connection response message to the connection confirmation message in the frame of the identification ID to the communication apparatus when the connection confirmation message is received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication apparatus via the unit; And a procedure for performing setting of the own device using the setting information received from the communication device in the frame of the identification ID via the terminal communication unit.

  The communication device, the terminal communication device, the remote setting system, and the remote setting method according to the present invention provide a control to which a specific identification ID is assigned when transmitting and receiving a setting control frame and a communication user frame in-band. By providing a virtual path for transmitting and receiving a frame, a newly installed communication device or terminal can be automatically detected, and initial setting or the like can be performed remotely.

It is a figure which shows the example of whole structure of the remote setting system 100 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the communication apparatus 102 which concerns on this embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table in an output interface information storage unit 252 of the communication apparatus 102. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of registration information set in the communication apparatus 102 from the network management server 101. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the terminal communication apparatus 103 which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a table of the output interface information storage part 353 of the terminal communication apparatus 103. It is a figure which shows the flow of the message transmission / reception between the communication apparatus 102 and the terminal communication apparatus 103. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the communication apparatus 102. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of a terminal communication device 103. It is a figure which shows the example of a connection of the remote setting system 100a at the time of MPLS use. It is a figure which shows the example of a setting of each table at the time of MPLS use.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a communication device, a terminal communication device, a remote setting system, and a remote setting method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration example and operation of the entire system]
FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram of a remote setting system 100 having a plurality of communication devices, a plurality of terminal communication devices, and the like. In the example of FIG. 1, a plurality of communication devices 102 and 152 are connected to the network management server 101 via the monitoring control network 151. Further, a plurality of terminal communication devices 103, 162, and 163 are connected to the communication device 102 via the communication network 161. 1 shows a case where the network management server 101, the monitoring control network 151, and the plurality of communication devices 102 and 152 are in the same station such as the upper station 153. For example, the communication device 152 May be located in a separate station from the upper station 153, or the network management server 101 may be located in a location different from the communication devices 102 and 152.

  Further, in this embodiment, the operator operates the communication device 102 connected from the network management server 101 via the monitoring control network 151, so that the initial of the terminal communication device 103 scheduled to be newly connected to the communication network 161 is set. Although an example of performing the setting will be described, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case of performing the initial setting when other terminal communication devices 162 and 163 are newly connected. Alternatively, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where initial setting is performed for a terminal communication device connected under the communication device 152 instead of the communication device 102.

  In FIG. 1, the operator operates the network management server 101 to input setting information of a terminal communication device 103 that is to be newly installed in the future. The input setting information is transmitted to the upper communication terminal 102 having the terminal communication device 103 under control. It is assumed that the operator knows in advance the output interface number of the communication device on the upper side of the place where the terminal communication device 103 to be newly installed is installed. Further, it is assumed that the operator also knows only information (such as a MAC address) that can identify the terminal communication device 103 to be newly installed. However, the terminal communication apparatus 103 to be newly installed is in a state where no initial setting is made. For example, when the network 161 is an IP network, an IP address that is destination information in the IP network is also set. Shall not. Therefore, when the newly installed terminal communication device 103 is physically connected to the network 161, the IP address is not set and communication using the IP address cannot be performed.

  A specific identification ID for the control frame is determined in advance in the entire system, and when the terminal communication device 103 receives a frame of this identification ID from the higher-level communication device 102, it transfers it to the output interface on the terminal side. It is assumed that it is set in advance so as to be passed to the control unit (CPU or the like) of the device itself without using it.

  Here, as an example of the identification ID, for example, when an LSP of the MPLS network is used, it corresponds to a label number, and the frame with the label number 1000 is handed over to the control unit of its own device without being transferred elsewhere. Alternatively, in the case of VLAN as well, a VLAN-ID (for example, ABC) is determined in advance as a common identification ID for the entire system, and a frame of VLAN-ID = “ABC” is sent from the higher-level communication device 102. If it is received, it is transferred to the control unit of its own device without being transferred to the output interface on the terminal side.

  In this way, the terminal communication device 103 can reliably receive the control frame to which the predetermined identification ID sent from the upper side is added without transferring it to the lower side. . The control frame in this case corresponds to, for example, a “connection confirmation” message or a “setting notification” message described later.

  Conversely, the same identification ID (the same identification ID may be used or another identification ID may be determined in advance) is also used for the control frame output from the terminal communication device 103 side to the higher-level communication device 102. The upper communication device 102 recognizes that it is a control frame and outputs it to the control unit of the communication device 102 without transferring it to another output interface. In this way, the communication device 102 can reliably receive the control frame transmitted from the lower-level terminal communication device 103 by the control unit of the own device without transferring the control frame to another communication path. The control frame in this case corresponds to, for example, a “connection response” message or a “setting complete” message described later.

[Configuration Example and Operation of Communication Device 102]
Next, a configuration example of the communication apparatus 102 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the communication device 102 can be divided into a control block 111 and a communication block 112. The control block 111 is connected to the network management server 101 and transmits / receives various control information (such as setting information and management information). For example, the control block 111 receives setting information of a plurality of terminal communication devices connected to the own device or subordinates from the network management server 101, or conversely manages a plurality of terminal communication devices connected to the own device or subordinates. Information is transmitted to the network management server 101.

  In FIG. 2, the control block 111 includes a control unit 201, an external interface unit 202, and a setting storage unit 203. Further, the control unit 201 includes a CPU unit 251 and an FPGA unit 252. The CPU unit 251 operates according to a program stored therein in advance, and controls the communication device 102 as a whole. In particular, in the present embodiment, the CPU unit 251 includes a communication control unit 261 that communicates with the network management server 101 and transmits / receives control information to / from a plurality of terminal communication devices via the communication block 112, and a new one. And a detecting unit 262 that detects a terminal communication device connected to the. The FPGA unit 252 is an IC that can change the circuit that provides the peripheral interface of the CPU unit 251. In this embodiment, the FPGA unit 252 stores the setting information sent from the network management server 101 via the external interface unit 202. Save to. Alternatively, the setting information stored in the setting storage unit 203 is read out and set in the terminal communication device under the control via the communication block 112 in accordance with a command from the CPU unit 251. The setting storage unit 203 is a storage medium such as a memory or a hard disk, but may be included in the FPGA unit 252. In the present embodiment, the CPU unit 251 and the FPGA unit 252 are separately described as being aware of the hardware circuit of the actual device. However, the CPU unit 251 and the FPGA unit 252 are combined into one block as the control unit 201. May be. In any case, the operation of the detection unit 262 and the setting unit 263 is a characteristic part of this embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, the communication block 112 includes a switch unit 204 and physical interface termination units 205, 206, 207 and 208. Here, the communication block 112 is a block for performing an original communication operation of the communication apparatus 102. The switch unit 204 switches transfer paths between a plurality of physical interface termination units, for example, outputs a user frame input from the physical interface termination unit 205 to the physical interface termination unit 208 or a user frame input from the physical interface termination unit 207. Is output to the physical interface termination unit 206.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the switch unit 204 outputs a specific control frame input from the control unit 201 to the instructed physical interface termination unit, and conversely, a specific control frame input from the physical interface termination unit. Output to. Here, the switch unit 204 includes an output interface selection unit 253 and an output interface information storage unit 254. The output interface selection unit 253 is a part that determines which physical interface terminal unit the user frame received by the physical interface terminal unit (205 to 208) is output to, and outputs path information that determines where the user frame is output. It is stored in the interface information storage unit 254. For example, the output interface selection unit 253 corresponds to a switch that performs routing, and transfers a control frame or a user frame according to path information (such as a routing table) stored in the output interface information storage unit 254.

  Here, the output interface information storage unit 254 has a table structure as shown in FIG. 3, and to which physical interface termination unit (205 to 208) or control unit 201 the frame received by the output interface selection unit 253 is transferred. The route information shown is held. For example, in FIG. 3, the frame with the identification ID: 500 input from the input interface number: (207) is output to the output interface number: (205). Similarly, the frame with the identification ID: 600 input from the input interface number: (208) is output to the output interface number: (206), and the frame with the identification ID: 1000 input from the input interface number: (201) is the output interface. Number: (206) is output. Conversely, the frame with the identification ID: 1000 input from the input interface number: (206) is output to the output interface number: (201). In this way, the output interface selection unit 253 switches the output destination of the frame according to the received frame identification ID.

  In FIG. 3, the input interface number and the output interface number correspond to the respective code numbers of the communication apparatus 102 in FIG. 2. For example, the input interface numbers: (207) and (208) are assigned to the physical interface termination units 207 and 208. The output interface numbers (205) and (206) correspond to the physical interface termination units 205 and 206, respectively. The input interface number: (201) and the output interface number: (201) correspond to the control unit 201. For example, in the case of FIG. 3, a control frame having an identification ID of 1000 output from the CPU unit 251 or the FPGA unit 252 of the control unit 201 is output from the physical interface termination unit 206, and conversely input from the physical interface termination unit 206. The control frame with the identification ID 1000 is output to the control unit 201.

  In FIG. 3, the identification ID is added to a control frame transmitted from the communication device (communication device 102 in this embodiment) to the terminal communication device (terminal communication device 103 in this embodiment). This is information for identifying a control frame by a relay device (LSR (Label Switching Router in the case of MPLS in a router or switch)) or a terminal communication device. The identification ID forms a dedicated virtual path between the communication device and the terminal communication device. For example, when MPLS is used, the identification ID corresponds to a label number.

  In this way, the output interface selection unit 253 performs a table search of the output interface information storage unit 254 of FIG. 3 based on the identification ID of the control frame including control information such as setting information received from the control unit 201. The control frame is output to the output interface number.

[Setting information registration operation]
Next, the registration operation of the setting information received from the network management server 101 will be described. In FIG. 2, the CPU unit 251 receives setting information for the terminal communication device 103 and the like from the network management server 101 via the external interface unit 202. The CPU unit 251 that has received the setting information outputs the setting information to the FPGA unit 252, and the setting unit 263 of the FPGA unit 252 stores the setting information in the setting storage unit 203.

  Here, the setting information will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting information, which includes an output interface number of the communication apparatus 102 to which the terminal communication apparatus 103 is connected, an identification ID, and various setting data. In the example of FIG. 4, the setting data A is an IP address, and the setting data B is a terminal name. The output interface number indicates one of the physical interface termination units in FIG. For example, the output interface number (206) corresponds to the physical interface termination unit 206 in FIG. 2, and the output interface number (208) corresponds to the physical interface termination unit 208 in FIG. In FIG. 4, each setting data may be stored in advance by the operator of the network management server 101 in association with newly installed apparatus information (for example, a MAC address). In particular, when a plurality of terminal communication devices are to be newly installed, they can be distinguished by this device information. Moreover, when installing one by one according to the installation plan, there is no need for the device information.

  In the example of FIG. 4, setting data A and setting data B are described in the control frame to which each identification ID is added. For example, the setting data corresponding to the terminal communication device of the device information AAA is transmitted from the output interface number (206). In the control frame, the identification ID: 1000 and the IP address: 192.168.8.0. 100 and the name: Apple as the setting data B are described. Similarly, the setting data corresponding to the terminal communication device of the device information BBB is transmitted from the output interface number (208). In the control frame, the identification ID: 400 and the setting data A as the IP address: 10.10.116 201 and the name “Orange” are described as the setting data B. In the example of FIG. 4, two setting data, setting data A and B, are provided, but the number of setting data may be one, or may be three or more. Further, the number of setting data may be different for each output interface number or identification ID.

[Configuration Example and Operation of Terminal Communication Device 103]
Next, a configuration example of the terminal communication device 103 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the terminal communication device 102 can be divided into a control block 121 and a communication block 122.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the control block 121 includes a control unit 301 and a self apparatus setting information storage unit 302. The control unit 301 includes a CPU 351 and other peripheral circuits. The CPU unit 351 operates in accordance with a program stored in advance and controls the entire terminal communication device 103. In particular, in this embodiment, the CPU unit 351 receives a control frame to which a specific identification ID determined in advance sent from the higher-level communication device 102 is added from the communication block 122 side, and performs processing according to the control frame. I do. For example, as will be described in detail later, when a “connection confirmation” message is received, a “connection response” message is returned, or when a “setting notification” message is received, the setting data included in the message is sent to the own device setting information. The information is stored in the storage unit 302, and the IP address of the device and various parameters are set.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the communication block 122 includes a switch unit 303, a physical interface termination unit 304, and a physical interface termination unit 305. Here, the communication block 122 is a block that performs the original communication operation of the terminal communication apparatus 103, and the switch unit 303 switches the transfer path between the plurality of physical interface termination units and the control block side. For example, the physical interface termination unit 304 is connected to a network on the higher-level communication device 102 side, and a user terminal such as a personal computer or a router is connected to the physical interface termination unit 305. In the example of FIG. 5, only two physical interface termination units are illustrated, but three or more physical interface termination units may be included. When a user frame is transmitted / received, a user frame input from the physical interface termination unit 304 is output to the physical interface termination unit 305, or a user frame input from the physical interface termination unit 305 is output to the physical interface termination unit 304.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the switch unit 303 outputs a specific control frame input from the physical interface terminal unit to which the communication apparatus 102 is connected to the control unit 301, and conversely, the specific control frame input from the control unit 301. Output to the same physical interface terminal.

  The switch unit 303 includes an output interface selection unit 352 and an output interface information storage unit 353. The output interface selection unit 352 is a part that determines where to output the user frame or control frame received by the physical interface termination unit (304, 305), and the path information that determines where to output is output interface information. It is stored in the storage unit 353. For example, the output interface selection unit 352 corresponds to a switch that performs routing, and transfers a control frame or a user frame according to path information (such as a routing table) stored in the output interface information storage unit 353.

  Here, the output interface information storage unit 353 has a table structure as shown in FIG. 6, and to which physical interface termination unit (304, 305) or control unit 301 the frame received by the output interface selection unit 352 is output. The route information shown is held.

  For example, in FIG. 6, the frame with the identification ID: 1000 input from the input interface number: (304) is output to the output interface number: (301). Similarly, the frame of identification ID: 100 input from the input interface number: (305) is output to the output interface number: (304), and the frame of identification ID: 200 input from the input interface number: (304) is the output interface. Number: Output to (305). Also, the frame with the identification ID: 1000 input from the input interface number: (301) is output to the output interface number: (304). In this way, the output interface selection unit 253 switches the output destination of the frame according to the received frame identification ID.

  In FIG. 6, the input interface number and the output interface number correspond to the respective code numbers of the terminal communication apparatus 103 in FIG. 5. For example, the input interface numbers: (304) and (305) are the physical interface termination units 304 and 305. Correspond to each. The input interface number: (301) and the output interface number: (301) correspond to the control unit 301. For example, in the case of FIG. 6, a control frame with an identification ID of 1000 output from the CPU unit 351 of the control unit 301 is output from the physical interface termination unit 304, and conversely, an identification ID input from the physical interface termination unit 304 is 1000 control frames are output to the control unit 301. That is, the control frame is not output to the user terminal connected to the physical interface termination unit 305 or the like.

  In this way, the output interface selection unit 352 performs a table search of the output interface information storage unit 353 of FIG. 5 based on the identification ID of the control frame including the control information such as the setting information received from the communication apparatus 102, and performs the search. The control frame is output to the specified output interface number. Conversely, a control frame such as a response message output by the control unit 301 is also searched in the table of the output interface information storage unit 353 in FIG. 5 based on the identification ID, and the control frame is output to the searched output interface number.

  Here, the control frame is a “connection confirmation” message or “setting notification” message sent from the communication device 102, or a “connection response” message or “setting complete” message sent from the control unit 301 to the communication device 102. It is.

[Detection Procedure of Terminal Communication Device 103]
Next, the detection procedure of the terminal communication apparatus 103 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating message transmission / reception between the communication device 102 and the terminal communication device 103. Each message shown in FIG. 7 is a message transmitted and received in the control frame described above. For example, it corresponds to the control frame to which the identification ID: 1000 described in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 is added. It is assumed that the output interface information storage unit 353 of the terminal communication device 103 is set in advance with a table indicating that the frame with the identification ID: 1000 is input / output with the control unit 301 side. Here, these tables are determined in advance as specific identification IDs for performing initial setting for a newly connected terminal communication device.

  In FIG. 7, the communication apparatus 102 transmits a control frame of a “connection confirmation” message to which the identification ID: 1000 is added to the network 161. At this time, since the terminal communication device 103 is not connected to the network 161, the communication device 102 does not receive a response from the terminal communication device 103. The communication device 102 transmits “connection confirmation” messages 251, 252, and 253 to the network 161 at predetermined time intervals set in advance until a response is received. Note that other terminal communication devices connected to the network 161 also receive the “connection confirmation” message, but do not return a response message to the communication device 102 side because it has already been initialized. However, when there is a newly connected terminal communication device as with the terminal communication device 103, the same operation as the terminal communication device 103 described below is performed and the initial setting is performed.

  In FIG. 7, when the terminal communication device 103 is connected to the network 161 before the communication device 102 transmits the “confirm connection” message 254 (terminal connection 261), as described in FIG. The control unit 301 receives the “connection confirmation” message 254 via the physical interface termination unit 304 and the output interface selection unit 352. Here, the “connection confirmation” message is a broadcast message for prompting the newly installed terminal communication device to perform initial setting.

  Then, since the initial setting has not been performed, the control unit 301 outputs the “connection response” message 255 to which the identification ID: 1000 is added to the network 161 via the output interface selection unit 352 and the physical interface termination unit 304. . On the other hand, the communication apparatus 102 receives the “connection response” message 255 from the physical interface termination unit 206 via the network 161, and the output interface selection unit 253 adds the identification ID: 1000 to the “connection response” message 255. Therefore, it outputs to the control part 201 side. Here, the “connection response” message is a unicast message for requesting initial setting information from the newly installed terminal communication device to the communication device 102. The “connection response” message includes unique device information (for example, a MAC address) that can identify the terminal communication device.

  Then, the control unit 201 of the communication apparatus 102 that has received the “connection response” message 255 from the terminal communication apparatus 103 detects that the terminal communication apparatus 103 is newly connected (detection 271). This detection is performed by the detection unit 262 of the CPU unit 251 of the control unit 201 as described with reference to FIG. When the detection unit 262 detects that the terminal communication device 103 is newly connected, the CPU 251 reads setting information for the terminal communication device 103 from the setting storage unit 203 via the FPGA unit 252. At this time, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the setting information is searched based on unique device information (for example, a MAC address) that can identify the terminal communication device included in the “connection response” message. For example, in the case of FIG. 4, since the device information AAA corresponds to the terminal communication device 103, the identification ID: 1000 corresponding to the device information AAA, the IP address: 192.168.0.100 as the setting data A, the setting data The name: Apple is read as B.

  Then, the control unit 301 sends a “setting notification” message 256 (including device information: AAA, setting data A, and setting data B) to which the identification ID: 1000 is added to the output interface selection unit 352 and the physical interface termination unit 304. Via the network 161. On the other hand, the communication apparatus 102 receives the “setting notification” message 256 from the physical interface termination unit 206 via the network 161, and the output interface selection unit 253 adds the identification ID: 1000 to the “setting notification” message 256. Therefore, it outputs to the control part 201 side. Here, since the “setting notification” message 256 includes device information: AAA, the control unit 301 of the terminal communication device 103 can recognize that the message is addressed to itself.

  Upon receiving the “setting notification” message 256, the control unit 301 of the terminal communication apparatus 103 stores the setting data A and the setting data B included in the “setting notification” message 256 in the own apparatus setting information storage unit 302 of FIG. Setting 262). Thereby, for example, when the setting data A indicates an IP address, assignment of the IP address to the terminal communication device 103 is completed. The control unit 301 transmits a “setting complete” message 257 (including device information: AAA) to which an identification ID: 1000 indicating that the setting has been completed is added via the output interface selection unit 352 and the physical interface termination unit 304. 161 to output.

  On the other hand, the communication apparatus 102 receives the “setting complete” message 257 from the physical interface termination unit 206 via the network 161, and the output interface selection unit 253 adds the identification ID: 1000 to the “setting complete” message 257. Therefore, it outputs to the control part 201 side. Here, since the “setting complete” message 257 includes device information: AAA, the control unit 201 of the communication device 102 can confirm that the initial setting of the terminal communication device 103 has been completed.

  In this way, it is possible to make initial settings such as an IP address for the terminal communication device 103 to be newly connected. In particular, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to assign and set an IP address or the like in advance to the terminal communication device, and it is only necessary to determine an identification ID for transmitting and receiving a control frame. This eliminates the need for complicated operations such as setting an IP address when a new terminal communication device is installed, and the operator collects the setting information of the terminal communication device 103 to be installed from the network management server 101 at once. It only needs to be set in the upper communication device 102.

[Processing of Communication Device 102]
Next, processing on the communication device 102 side in the detection procedure of the terminal communication device 103 described in FIG. 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing (processing centered on the CPU 251) of the control unit 201 of the communication apparatus 102.

  (Step S <b> 101) The control unit 201 transmits a “connection confirmation” message to the terminal communication apparatus 103.

  (Step S102) The control unit 201 waits for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) set in advance (Wait).

  (Step S <b> 103) The control unit 201 determines whether a “connection response” message is received from the terminal communication device 103. If the “connection response” message is received from the terminal communication apparatus 103, the process proceeds to step S104. If the “connection response” message is not received, the process returns to step S101.

  (Step S <b> 104) The control unit 201 transmits a “setting notification” message to the terminal communication apparatus 103.

  (Step S105) The control unit 201 waits for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) set in advance (Wait).

  (Step S <b> 106) The control unit 201 determines whether or not a “setting complete” message has been received from the terminal communication apparatus 103. If a “setting complete” message is received from the terminal communication apparatus 103, the process ends. If a “setting complete” message has not been received, the process returns to step S104.

  In this way, the communication apparatus 102 can detect the newly connected terminal communication apparatus 103 and perform initial setting. In particular, in the present embodiment, as described above, “connection confirmation”, “connection response”, “setting notification”, and “setting completion” are performed using a control frame to which a specific identification ID determined in advance by the system is added. The output interface selection unit 253 of the communication device 102 reliably transfers the control frame transmitted from the terminal communication device 103 to the control unit 201 side without being confused with other user frames. Can do.

[Processing of Terminal Communication Device 103]
Next, processing on the terminal communication device 103 side in the detection procedure of the terminal communication device 103 described in FIG. 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing (processing centered on the CPU 351) of the control unit 301 of the terminal communication device 103.

  (Step S <b> 201) The maintenance person connects the terminal communication device 103 to the network 161. The maintenance person only has to turn on the terminal communication device 103 and start up the device, and does not need to connect the maintenance terminal to the terminal communication device 103 and initialize the IP address or the like as in the prior art. .

  (Step S <b> 202) The control unit 301 receives a “connection confirmation” message periodically transmitted from the communication apparatus 102. Note that since the communication device 102 periodically transmits a “connection confirmation” message, no standby processing is provided in FIG. 9, but it is also possible to wait until a “connection confirmation” message is received in step S202. Good.

  (Step S <b> 203) The control unit 301 transmits a “connection response” message to the communication apparatus 102.

  (Step S204) The control unit 301 waits for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) set in advance (Wait).

  (Step S <b> 205) The control unit 301 determines whether or not a “setting notification” message has been received from the communication apparatus 102. When the “setting notification” message is received from the communication apparatus 102, the process proceeds to step S206. When the “setting notification” message is not received, the process returns to step S204 and waits.

  (Step S <b> 206) The control unit 301 stores the setting information included in the “setting notification” message in the own device setting information storage unit 302.

  (Step S <b> 207) The control unit 301 transmits a “setting complete” message to the communication apparatus 102.

  In this way, the terminal communication device 103 receives the “connection confirmation” message periodically sent from the communication device 102 and transmits the “connection response” message, thereby receiving the setting information from the communication device 102. Can be received and initialized. In particular, in the present embodiment, as described above, each message of “connection confirmation” and “setting notification” is received using a control frame to which a specific identification ID determined in advance by the system is added. The output interface selection unit 352 of the device 103 can transfer to the control unit 301 (CPU unit 351) side without being confused with other user frames.

[Application example to MPLS]
In the above description, a general virtual path is formed between the communication device 102 and the terminal communication device 103 by the identification ID, and a control frame is transmitted and received. A virtual path is formed using a label number of MPLS (Multi Protocol Label Switching). In this case, the network 161 is an MPLS-compatible network, and routing is performed based on the label number.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram depicting a state in which the communication device 102 and the terminal communication device 103 of the remote setting system 100 described above are connected by the MPLS network 161a. In FIG. 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 indicate the same elements, and the blocks with the alphabet a added to the same reference numerals are the same blocks, but the operation is specialized for MPLS. Indicates a block. Further, the item numbers (numbers) used in the following description correspond to the (numbers) described in the balloon window of FIG.

  (1) First, a terminal communication device to be newly installed is registered in the table 203a of the communication device 101 by the operator's operation from the network management server 101 (dotted line 271). Note that the information registered by the operator in the communication apparatus 101 is, for example, the information described with reference to FIG. In addition, as the remote setting system 100, an MPLS label number for initial setting is determined in advance. Here, it is assumed that the MPLS label number is 1000. Further, it is assumed that the terminal communication apparatus 103 to be newly installed has a processing table with an MPLS label number of 1000 in a default state before installation. This processing table is the same as the table example described with reference to FIG. 6. For example, when the Label SW 303a of the terminal communication apparatus 103 receives a frame with an MPLS label number of 1000 from the MPLS network 161a, the physical interface termination unit 305 Instead, it outputs to the CPU 351 side.

Here, an example of registration information items registered by the operator in the communication apparatus 102 from the network management server 101 is listed below. This registration information corresponds to FIG.
A physical port number (physical interface terminal number) of the communication device 102 to which a terminal communication device is newly connected. Note that it is assumed that the operator knows beforehand which physical port number is connected based on the installation plan.
Any label number other than the initial setting MPLS label determined above (other than 1000). In the case of FIG. This is because the label number 1000 is reserved as the initial setting MPLS label.
-Arbitrary setting data to be set in the terminal communication device to be connected. In the example of FIG. 11A, there are two pieces of setting data A and B.

  The registration information as described above is stored in the table 203a. In FIG. 11A, device information may be registered so that a plurality of terminal communication devices can be identified as shown in FIG. 4 described above.

  Here, when the registration of the setting contents by the network setting server 101 is completed, the control unit 201 periodically transmits a “connection confirmation” message with the MPLS label number 1000 from the IF 206 in the case of the registered port (for example, in the case of FIG. 11A). In addition, as described with reference to FIG.5, the terminal communication apparatus repeatedly transmits until the terminal communication apparatus is connected to the MPLS network 161a.

  (2) When the terminal communication device 103 is connected to the MPLS network 161a, the “connection confirmation” message transmitted in (1) is received by the terminal communication device 103, so that the CPU 351 of the terminal communication device 103 A “connection response” message with an MPLS label of 1000 is returned to 102. Note that a frame with an MPLS label of number 1000 forms a virtual path 162 between the communication apparatus 102 and the terminal communication apparatus 103 on the MPLS network 161a.

  (3) The Label SW 253a of the communication apparatus 102 that has received the “connection response” message searches the SW table 254a from the received physical port position and MPLS label value. In this case, since the port that received the frame from the terminal communication apparatus 103 is IF 206 and the label value of the frame is 1000, the MPLS label is changed to 200 from the SW table 254a and transferred to the FPGA 252 side. Here, a table example of the SW table 254a is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11B, when the frame input port is FPGA 252 and the label number is 200, it indicates that the output port is IF206 and the label is changed to the 1000th label. Similarly, when the input port of the frame is IF 206 and the label number is 1000, it indicates that the output port is FPGA 252 and the label is changed to the 200th label.

  (4) Upon receiving the “connection response” message transferred from the LabelSW 253a, the FPGA 251 searches the table 203a with the label number 200 replaced by the LabelSW253a.

  (5) The FPGA 251 reads registration information (setting data A and B) whose label number is 200 in the table 203a (in this case, FIG. 11 (a)), and “setting notification” whose MPLS label is 200. A message is generated and output to the LabelSW 253a.

  (6) The Label SW 253a refers to the SW table 254a (in this case, FIG. 11B), changes the label number of the “setting notification” message with the label number 200 output from the FPGA 251 to 1000, The data is transmitted from the IF 206 to the MPLS network 161a.

  Here, (5) and (6) correspond to the data flow of the dotted line 272 in FIG.

  (7) The LabelSW 352a of the terminal communication device 103 transfers the “setting notification” message received from the MPLS network 161a to the CPU 351 (dotted line 273). Then, the CPU 351 extracts the setting information (setting data A and B) in the control frame of the “setting notification” message and sets it in the own device or stores it in the own device setting information storage unit 302. For example, in the example of FIG. 10, IP addresses: 10, 10, 116, and 201 are set in the CPU 351 based on the setting data A of FIG. Similarly, 1234 of setting data B corresponding to the device name, operation setting parameter, and the like is also set in the CPU 351.

  (8) After the setting of the own device is completed, the CPU 351 generates a “setting complete” message whose MPLS label is 1000 and outputs it to the LabelSW 352a. In the example of the SW table 353 a in FIG. 11C, the transfer destination of the “setting complete” message whose MPLS label output by the CPU 351 is 1000 is not defined, but in the terminal communication apparatus 103, the output from the CPU 351 is 1000. Assume that it is determined that all the frames of the number are transferred to the MPLS network 161a. Alternatively, when the terminal communication device 103 has a plurality of ports, the input port and the output port may be clearly defined as in the SW table 254a of the communication device 102 shown in FIG. I do not care.

  (9) The Label SW 253a of the communication apparatus 102 that has received the “setting complete” message searches the SW table 254a from the received physical port position and MPLS label value, as in the case of (3). In this case, since the port that received the frame from the terminal communication apparatus 103 is IF 206 and the label value of the frame is 1000, the MPLS label is changed to 200 from the SW table 254a and transferred to the FPGA 252 side. Then, the FPGA 252 that has received the “setting complete” message searches the table 203a with the label number 200 replaced by the LabelSW 253a, and deletes the corresponding registration information from the table 203a. Alternatively, the registration information shown in FIG. 11A may be provided with a set-up column to add information indicating that it has been set. In this case, by reading this information from the network management server 101, it can be confirmed whether or not the setting of the terminal communication apparatus 103 to be newly connected is completed.

  In this way, by using the MPLS network 161a and determining a specific label number (1000 in the above example) on the system for initial setting, the terminal communication device 103 is newly connected to the MPLS network 161a. In this case, a control frame can be transmitted / received to / from the communication apparatus 101, and initial setting can be reliably performed.

  In particular, in the remote setting system 100 according to the present embodiment, the operator registers the initial setting contents of the terminal communication device 103 to be newly connected to the upper communication device 102 from the network management server 101, and the terminal communication device When 103 is connected, this can be automatically detected and initial setting can be performed. This facilitates the opening operation when newly installing the terminal communication device 103, and the maintenance person only needs to install the terminal communication device 103, and does not need to perform complicated initial settings on site.

  The communication device, the terminal communication device, the remote setting system, and the remote setting method according to the present invention have been described with reference to the embodiments. However, the communication device, the terminal communication device, the remote setting system, and the remote setting method have been described in various other forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof. Can be implemented. For this reason, the above-described embodiment is merely an example in all respects and should not be interpreted in a limited manner. The present invention is defined by the claims, and the present invention is not limited to the text of the specification. Further, all modifications and changes belonging to the equivalent scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

100, 100a ... Remote setting system 101 ... Network management server 102, 102a, 152, 153 ... Communication device 103, 103a, 162, 163 ... Terminal communication device 111 ... Control block 112 ... Communication block 121 ... Control block 122 ... Communication block 151 ... Monitoring control network 161 ... Communication network 161a ... MPLS network 201 ... Control unit 202 ... External interface unit 202a ...・ L2SW
203 ... Setting storage unit 203a ... Tables 205, 206, 207, 208 ... Physical interface termination unit (IF)
251 ... CPU unit 252 ... FPGA unit 253 ... output interface selection unit 253a ... LabelSW
254: Output interface information storage unit 254a ... SW table 261 ... Communication control unit 262 ... Detection unit 263 ... Setting unit 301 ... Control unit 302 ... Own device setting information storage unit 303: Switch unit 304, 305 ... Physical interface termination unit (IF)
351 ... CPU unit 352 ... output interface selection unit 352a ... LabelSW
353: Output interface information storage unit 353a: SW table

Claims (6)

In a higher-level communication device connected to a network management server and connected to a plurality of terminal communication devices via a network,
A communication unit that communicates with the terminal communication device;
A detection unit for detecting that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network;
And a setting unit that transmits the setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device detected by the detection unit. The communication device according to claim 1,
The detection unit periodically broadcasts a connection confirmation message with a frame of an identification ID preset in the network via the communication unit, and newly determines whether or not a connection response message for the connection confirmation message is received. A terminal communication device connected to the network is detected,
The setting unit transmits the setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device in a frame of the identification ID. In the terminal communication device connected to the communication device according to claim 2 via the network,
A terminal communication unit for communicating with the communication device;
A terminal that transmits the connection response message to the communication device in the frame of the identification ID when the connection confirmation message is received from the communication device in the frame of the identification ID via the terminal communication unit A terminal communication device comprising: a control unit. The terminal communication device according to claim 3.
The terminal control unit performs setting of its own device using the setting information received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication device via the terminal communication unit. A network management server, a higher-level communication device connected to the network management server, and a plurality of terminal communication devices connected to the communication device via a network, and newly connected to the network In the remote setting system for remotely setting the terminal communication device from the network management server and the higher-level communication device,
The upper communication device is:
A communication unit that communicates with the terminal communication device;
A detection unit for detecting that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network;
A setting unit that transmits the setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device detected by the detection unit;
The detection unit periodically broadcasts a connection confirmation message with a frame of an identification ID preset in the network via the communication unit, and newly determines whether or not a connection response message for the connection confirmation message is received. A terminal communication device connected to the network is detected,
The setting unit transmits the setting information received from the network management server to the terminal communication device in a frame of the identification ID;
The terminal communication device is
A terminal communication unit for communicating with the communication device;
A terminal that transmits the connection response message for the connection confirmation message to the communication device in the frame of the identification ID when the connection confirmation message is received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication device via the terminal communication unit A control unit, and
The terminal control unit performs setting of its own device using the setting information received in the frame of the identification ID from the communication device via the terminal communication unit. A network management server, a higher-level communication device connected to the network management server, and a plurality of terminal communication devices connected to the communication device via a network, and newly connected to the network In a remote setting method for remotely setting a terminal communication device from the network management server and the higher-level communication device,
In the upper communication device,
A procedure for periodically broadcasting a connection confirmation message in a frame of an identification ID preset in the network via a communication unit that performs communication with the terminal communication device;
A procedure for detecting that a new terminal communication device is connected to the network by receiving a connection response message for the connection confirmation message;
A step of transmitting the setting information received from the network management server to the detected terminal communication device in the frame of the identification ID;
In the terminal communication device,
When the connection confirmation message is received from the communication device in the frame of the identification ID via a terminal communication unit that communicates with the communication device, the connection response message for the connection confirmation message is sent to the communication device. Transmitting in the frame of the identification ID;
A remote setting method comprising: performing setting of the own device using the setting information received from the communication device in the frame of the identification ID via the terminal communication unit.

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