JP2012257039A - Management device, communication system, and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce network congestion to be generated whenever communication is disconnected in a communication system which manages a communication device in a network.SOLUTION: The management device for managing a communication device in a network comprises: sequence number storage means which stores a sequence number received from the communication device whenever a management state of the communication device is changed; transmission request means which requests the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication becomes enabled again, after communication with the communication device is disconnected; sequence number collation means which collates the sequence number received from the communication device with the sequence number stored in the storage means before communication is disconnected; and synchronization means which determines whether or not a management state of the communication device is synchronized with the communication device on the basis of a collation result.

Description

  The present invention relates to a management device that manages a communication device on a network, or a communication system including the management device, and a communication method.

  In a network management system that manages communication devices on a network, a protocol called SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is often used for communication between the management device and the communication device.

  In a network using SNMP, when a state change (event) such as a failure occurs on the network, the communication device notifies the management device that the event has occurred. In SNMP, this notification is called Trap.

  In such a network, when communication between the management apparatus and the management target apparatus becomes impossible for some reason, the management apparatus cannot know the state change of the communication apparatus. Therefore, it is necessary to synchronize the state of the communication device and the management state when communication is restored.

  Patent Document 1 describes that a sequence number is assigned to Trap. When the received Trap sequence numbers are not consecutive, the management device determines that there is a loss of Trap. The management apparatus determines whether a certain time has elapsed since the last received Trap reception time. When the predetermined time has elapsed, the management device makes an inquiry to the corresponding communication device.

JP 2003-244142 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, an inquiry is made to a communication device that has passed a certain time from the last reception time of Trap.

  Generally, at the time of such an inquiry, when communication with a communication device to be managed is restored, the management device transmits an information acquisition request packet to all management objects of the communication device. At this time, not only the information acquisition request packet is transmitted from the management apparatus, but also a response packet for each information acquisition request packet is transmitted from each communication apparatus.

  Therefore, depending on the number of communication devices and management objects, the network may overflow with packets. Therefore, there is a possibility that the management apparatus cannot normally monitor the communication apparatus on the network. In addition, as the number of all management objects of the communication device increases, it takes longer time to synchronize the management state of the management device and the state of the communication device, and the problem that the operator cannot perform smooth work also occurs.

  The objective of this invention is providing the management apparatus, communication system, and communication method which can solve the subject mentioned above.

  The management apparatus according to the present invention is a management apparatus that manages a communication apparatus on a network, and the management apparatus stores a sequence number received from the communication apparatus every time a change occurs in the management state of the communication apparatus. A transmission requesting means for requesting the communication apparatus to transmit the sequence number when communication is possible again after the communication between the sequence number storage means and the communication apparatus is disconnected; and from the communication apparatus Synchronization of the management state of the communication device between the communication device and the sequence number collating unit that collates the received sequence number with the sequence number stored in the storage unit before disconnecting the communication. And synchronization means for determining whether to perform or not.

  A communication system according to the present invention includes a communication device on a network and a management device that manages the communication device via the network, and the management device changes the management state of the communication device each time a change occurs. A sequence number storage means for storing a sequence number received from a communication device and a request for transmission of the sequence number to the communication device when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication becomes possible again A transmission request means, a sequence number collating means for collating the sequence number received from the communication apparatus with a sequence number stored in the storage means before communication disconnection, and the communication apparatus based on the collation result. Synchronization means for determining whether or not to synchronize the management state of the communication device.

  The communication method according to the present invention includes a sequence number storing step for storing a sequence number received from the communication device every time a change occurs in a management state of the communication device managed via a network, and communication with the communication device is disconnected. And when the communication becomes possible again, the transmission request step for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number and the sequence number received from the communication device are stored before the communication is disconnected. A sequence number collating step for collating with a sequence number, and a synchronizing step for determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the collation result. .

  It is possible to reduce the number of times of synchronization with the communication device restored after the communication is temporarily disconnected, and it is possible to reduce network congestion that occurs every time the communication is disconnected.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the management apparatus by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication system by 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the management server by 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus by 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement outline | summary of 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation | movement by 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement by 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the display means by 3rd Embodiment.

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

<First Embodiment>
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(Constitution)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a management apparatus 1000 according to the first embodiment. According to FIG. 1, the management apparatus 1000 includes a transmission request unit 1001, a sequence number storage unit 1002, a sequence number verification unit 1003, and a synchronization unit 1004. The management apparatus 1000 is connected to the communication apparatus 1100 via a network. The communication device 1100 is a communication device managed by the management device 1000.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The management apparatus 1000 and the communication apparatus 1100 are assumed to be able to communicate again after being disconnected once.

  First, the transmission request unit 1001 sends a sequence number transmission request to the communication device 1100 when communication with the communication device 1100 is disconnected and communication is possible again (S1001).

  The sequence number is a sequence number included in a message that the communication apparatus 1100 transmits to the management apparatus 1000 each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication apparatus 1100.

  Subsequently, the sequence number collation unit 1003 collates the sequence number received from the communication device 1100 with the sequence number stored in the sequence number storage unit 1002 before disconnecting the communication (S1002).

  Finally, the synchronization unit 1004 determines whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device 1100 with the communication device 1100 based on the result of the collation in S1002 (S1003).

(effect)
According to the first embodiment, the management device collates the sequence numbers received from the communication device after resuming communication, and determines whether to synchronize the management state with the communication device based on the collation result.

  With the above operation, it is possible to determine whether or not synchronization of the management state with the communication device is necessary after communication is resumed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of times of synchronization with the communication device, and it is possible to reduce network congestion that occurs every time communication is interrupted.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(Overview)
FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a communication system according to the second embodiment. According to FIG. 3, the communication system according to the second embodiment includes a management server 100, a communication device 110, a communication device 120, a communication device 130, a communication device 140, a communication device 150, and a communication device 160.

  The management server 100 and each communication device are connected via a network as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, it is assumed that portions connected by solid lines are connected by wires. In addition, it is assumed that a portion that is not connected by wire, for example, the communication device 110 and the communication device 120 are connected via a wireless network.

  An overview of the communication system shown in FIG. 3 will be described. First, the management server 100 acquires and manages information on communication devices on the network. The management server 100 can also display the status of the communication device to be managed on the screen.

  When each communication device detects a change in the state of its own management object, each communication device transmits a trap with a sequence number added to the management server. As this management object, for example, information managed by the MIB (Management Information Base) of the communication apparatus can be cited.

  The management server 100 reflects the state of the object notified by Trap on the screen display. At the same time, the notified sequence number is held.

  When the management server 100 temporarily becomes unable to communicate with the apparatus for some reason, such as when the communication line condition deteriorates, the management server 100 continues to maintain the monitoring state of the communication apparatus that cannot communicate with the communication apparatus. Manage as unmonitorable.

(Management server configuration)
Hereinafter, the configuration of the management server 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the management server 100 includes a transmission request unit 101, a sequence number storage unit 102, a sequence number verification unit 103, a synchronization unit 104, a display unit 105, and a communication I / F (interface) 106. The management server 100 is connected to the communication device 110 via the communication I / F 106.

  The transmission request unit 101 requests the communication device 110 to transmit the sequence number when the communication device 110 or the communication device downstream of the communication device 110 is disconnected and then restored.

  The sequence number storage unit 102 stores a sequence number included in the trap received from the communication device 110.

  The sequence number collating unit 103 collates whether or not the sequence number included in the Trap received from the communication device 110 has changed from the number stored in the sequence number storage unit 102.

  The synchronization means 104 determines whether or not the management state synchronization with the communication apparatus that has been disconnected is necessary based on the sequence number comparison result. If it is determined that synchronization is required, synchronization with the corresponding communication device is performed.

  The display unit 105 displays the status of each communication device managed by the management server 110 on a screen or the like.

  The communication I / F 106 communicates each function in the management server 100 with the communication device 110.

(Configuration of communication device)
Next, the configuration of the communication device will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the communication device 110 will be described, but other communication devices have the same configuration.

  According to FIG. 5, the communication device 110 includes a sequence number transmission unit 111 and a communication I / F 112. The communication device 110 is connected to the management server 100 and the communication device 120. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the communication device 110 and the management server 100 are connected via a wired network, and the communication device 110 and the communication device 120 are connected via a wireless network.

  The sequence number transmission unit 111 adds a sequence number to the Trap to be transmitted to the management server 100 when the state of the management object of the communication apparatus 110 changes, and transmits the Trap.

  The communication I / F 112 performs communication between each function of the communication device 110 and the management server 100 and the communication device 120.

(Operation when communication disconnection occurs)
Here, an operation when communication with one of the communication devices managed by the management server 100 is interrupted will be described. Specifically, a case where communication between the management server 100 and the communication device 140 is disconnected will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 shows a case where a failure has occurred in the wireless network between the communication device 130 and the communication device 140. In the state of FIG. 6, the management server 100 cannot communicate with the communication device 150 and the communication device 160 subsequent to the communication device 140 in addition to the communication device 140, and cannot be monitored.

  When the wireless network between the communication device 130 and the communication device 140 is restored, the management server 100 requests the communication device 140, the communication device 150, and the communication device 160 to transmit a sequence number. Each communication apparatus that has received the request transmits a sequence number or a trap with a sequence number, and responds to the management server 100.

  Then, the management server 100 that has received the response determines the necessity for synchronization based on the received sequence number.

  Hereinafter, the above operation will be described in detail with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. 7 and the flowchart of FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a sequence chart showing operations of the management server 100, the communication device 130, and the communication device 140 in the case of FIG. Note that the operations of the communication device 150 and the communication device 160 are the same as those of the communication device 140, and thus the drawings and description are omitted.

  First, at normal time, the sequence number transmission unit 111 of the communication device 140 transmits a sequence number or a trap including the sequence number to the management server 100 (S101).

  The sequence number storage unit 102 of the management server 100 stores the received sequence number (S102).

  Next, a case where a communication failure occurs between the communication device 130 and the communication device 140 will be described. It is assumed that a communication interruption has occurred during the time period indicated by the diagonal lines in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the communication device 130 periodically confirms connection to the communication device 140 (S103). When communication disconnection is detected by this connection confirmation, the communication device 130 transmits a communication failure notification to the management server 100 (S104).

  When the management server 100 receives the communication disabled notification, the management server 100 does not change the state of the communication device 140 that has lost communication.

  In the example of FIG. 7, as described above, the communication device 130 confirms the connection with the communication device 140, but the management server 100 may confirm the connection.

  When the communication disconnection is recovered, the communication device 140 transmits a connection notification to the management server 100 via the communication device 130 (S105).

  When the connection with the communication device 140 is confirmed, the transmission request unit 101 of the management server 100 makes a transmission request for the sequence number to the communication device 140 (S106).

  When receiving the transmission request for the sequence number, the communication device 140 makes a response to the transmission request (S107). This response may be the sequence number itself, or a Trap including the sequence number may be transmitted. Further, one sequence number may not correspond to a communication device, and a plurality of sequence numbers may exist for each set of managed objects determined.

  When the sequence number collating unit 103 of the management server 100 receives the sequence number, it collates the received sequence number with the sequence number stored in the sequence number storage unit 102. Thereafter, the synchronization unit 104 determines whether it is necessary to synchronize the management state of the communication device 140 based on the collation result (S108). If it is determined as a result of S <b> 108 that the synchronization unit 104 is necessary, the synchronization unit 104 acquires information regarding the state of the communication device 140 and performs synchronization.

  Next, the operation of the management server 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the management server 100. Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, a case where communication is performed between the management server 100 and the communication device 140 will be described.

  First, when a state change occurs in the management object of the communication device 140, the management server 100 receives a sequence number from the communication device 140 via the communication I / F 106 (S201). This sequence number may be communicated with the sequence number alone, or may be included in the Trap for communication.

  The sequence number received in S201 is stored in the sequence number storage means 102 (S202).

  Subsequently, the management server 100 checks whether or not the connection with the communication device 140 is maintained (S203). The process of S203 has the same contents as S103 of FIG. The processing of S203 may be performed by the communication device 130 between the management server 100 and the communication device 140 as illustrated in FIG. 7, or may be performed by the management server 100 as illustrated in FIG.

  As a result of S203, if it is confirmed that the management server 100 is connected to the communication device 140, the management server 100 waits for reception of a sequence number without performing any particular processing.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S203 that a failure has occurred in the connection with the communication device 140, S204 is performed. The management server 100 stands by until a notification that the connection is restored is received from the communication device 140 (S204). At this time, the management server 100 updates the management state of the communication device 140 to a monitoring impossible state, a communication disabled state, or the like. If the recovery notification is not received from the communication device 140 within a predetermined time, the connection confirmation may be transmitted to the communication device 140 again (S204: NO).

  When the connection with the communication device 140 is restored, the transmission request unit 101 makes a sequence number transmission request to the communication device 140 (S205).

  Subsequently, the management server 100 receives a response to the sequence number transmission request (S206). This response includes a sequence number.

  Upon receiving the sequence number, the sequence number collating unit 103 collates with the sequence number stored in the sequence number storage unit 102. As a result of the sequence number collation, the synchronization unit 104 determines whether or not it is necessary to synchronize the management state of the communication device 140 (S207).

  As a result of S207, when it is determined that the management state of the communication device 140 needs to be synchronized, the synchronization unit 104 synchronizes with the communication device 140 and ends the processing (S208). When performing synchronization with the communication device 140 in step S <b> 208, the management server 100 acquires information on all managed objects from the communication device 140.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S207 that synchronization is not necessary, the process ends without performing synchronization. In this case, the management server 100 returns the management state of the communication device 140 from the monitoring impossible state to the management state held before the communication interruption.

(effect)
According to the second embodiment, the management server collates the sequence numbers received from the communication device after resuming communication, and determines whether to synchronize with the communication device based on the collation result.

  With the above operation, it is possible to determine whether or not synchronization with the communication device is necessary after communication is resumed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of times of synchronization with the communication device, and it is possible to reduce network congestion that occurs every time communication is interrupted.

  Furthermore, when there is no change in the state of the communication device during communication disconnection, the management server reflects the state held by the management server without inquiring of the state of the communication device on the screen display or the like. Therefore, the operator of the management server can check the communication device information in real time without loss of time for synchronization.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the screen display of the management server 100 is further devised. Since the configuration of the management server 100 and each communication device is the same as that of the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The configuration of the third embodiment is shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a screen for monitoring and controlling the communication device of the management server 100. This screen is displayed by the display means 105. Further, on this screen, the communication device being monitored is visually indicated by an icon or the like. In FIG. 9, the display unit 105 recovers from the communication interruption and changes the icon of the communication device whose sequence number is being confirmed to a specific color (black).

  Thus, in the third embodiment, the icon on the screen of the apparatus whose sequence number is being confirmed is changed to a specific color. Therefore, in the third embodiment, it is possible to obtain an effect that the processing operation is visually easy to understand and operability is improved.

  In the third embodiment, the sequence number confirmation state may be expressed not only by changing the color of the icon but also by changing the icon type or expressing the character string. Further, it may be displayed in a log or the like.

  While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

  Further, a part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Appendix 1)
A management device for managing communication devices on a network,
The management device
Sequence number storage means for storing a sequence number received from the communication device each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication device;
Transmission request means for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication becomes possible again;
Sequence number verification means for verifying the sequence number received from the communication device with the sequence number stored in the storage means before communication disconnection;
Synchronization means for determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the verification result;
A management apparatus comprising:

(Appendix 2)
The synchronization means includes
The management apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein if the sequence number does not change as a result of the collation, the management state of the communication apparatus is returned to the held management state.

(Appendix 3)
The synchronization means includes
3. The management apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein when the sequence number is changed as a result of the collation, synchronization with the communication apparatus is performed and a management state of the communication apparatus is updated.

(Appendix 4)
The management device further includes:
Display that displays the communication device that is requesting transmission of the sequence number so that it can be distinguished from other communication devices when communication with the communication device is disconnected and communication is possible again The management apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 4, further comprising: means.

(Appendix 5)
A communication device on a network, and a management device that manages the communication device via the network,
The management device
Sequence number storage means for storing a sequence number received from the communication device each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication device;
Transmission request means for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication becomes possible again;
Sequence number verification means for verifying the sequence number received from the communication device with the sequence number stored in the storage means before communication disconnection;
Synchronization means for determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the verification result;
A communication system comprising:

(Appendix 6)
The synchronization means includes
6. The communication system according to appendix 5, wherein when the sequence number is not changed as a result of the collation, the management state of the communication apparatus is returned to the held management state.

(Appendix 7)
The synchronization means includes
7. The communication system according to appendix 5 or 6, wherein when the sequence number is changed as a result of the collation, synchronization with the communication device is performed and the management state of the communication device is updated.

(Appendix 8)
The management device further includes:
Display that displays the communication device that is requesting transmission of the sequence number so that it can be distinguished from other communication devices when communication with the communication device is disconnected and communication is possible again The communication system according to any one of supplementary notes 5 to 7, further comprising: means.

(Appendix 9)
The communication device
The communication system according to any one of appendices 5 to 8, further comprising sequence number transmission means for transmitting the sequence number to the management apparatus when the state of the communication apparatus changes.

(Appendix 10)
A sequence number storage step for storing a sequence number received from the communication device each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication device managed via the network;
A transmission request step for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication is possible again.
A sequence number collating step for collating the sequence number received from the communication device with the stored sequence number before disconnecting communication;
A synchronization step of determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the verification result;
A communication method comprising:

(Appendix 11)
The synchronization step includes
The communication method according to appendix 10, wherein if the sequence number does not change as a result of the collation, the management state of the communication device is returned to the held management state.

(Appendix 12)
The synchronization step includes
The communication method according to appendix 10 or 11, wherein when the sequence number is changed as a result of the collation, synchronization with the communication device is performed and a management state of the communication device is updated.

(Appendix 13)
The communication method further includes:
Display that displays the communication device that is requesting transmission of the sequence number so that it can be distinguished from other communication devices when communication with the communication device is disconnected and communication is possible again The communication method according to any one of appendices 10 to 12, further comprising a step.

100 management server 101, 1001 transmission request means 102, 1002 sequence number storage means 103, 1003 sequence number matching means 104, 1004 synchronization means 105 display means 106, 112 communication I / F
110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 1100 Communication device 111 Sequence number transmission means 1000 Management device

Claims (10)

A management device for managing communication devices on a network,
The management device
Sequence number storage means for storing a sequence number received from the communication device each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication device;
Transmission request means for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication becomes possible again;
Sequence number verification means for verifying the sequence number received from the communication device with the sequence number stored in the storage means before communication disconnection;
Synchronization means for determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the verification result;
A management apparatus comprising: The synchronization means includes
The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the sequence number is not changed as a result of the collation, the management state of the communication apparatus is returned to the held management state. The synchronization means includes
3. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the sequence number is changed as a result of the collation, synchronization with the communication apparatus is performed and a management state of the communication apparatus is updated. . The management device further includes:
Display that displays the communication device that is requesting transmission of the sequence number so that it can be distinguished from other communication devices when communication with the communication device is disconnected and communication is possible again The management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit. A communication device on a network, and a management device that manages the communication device via the network,
The management device
Sequence number storage means for storing a sequence number received from the communication device each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication device;
Transmission request means for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication becomes possible again;
Sequence number verification means for verifying the sequence number received from the communication device with the sequence number stored in the storage means before communication disconnection;
Synchronization means for determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the verification result;
A communication system comprising: The synchronization means includes
6. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein when the sequence number does not change as a result of the collation, the management state of the communication apparatus is returned to the held management state. The synchronization means includes
The communication system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein when the sequence number is changed as a result of the collation, synchronization with the communication device is performed and a management state of the communication device is updated. . The management device further includes:
Display that displays the communication device that is requesting transmission of the sequence number so that it can be distinguished from other communication devices when communication with the communication device is disconnected and communication is possible again The communication system according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising means. The communication device
9. The communication system according to claim 5, further comprising a sequence number transmission unit configured to transmit the sequence number to the management apparatus when a state of the communication apparatus changes. A sequence number storage step for storing a sequence number received from the communication device each time a change occurs in the management state of the communication device managed via the network;
A transmission request step for requesting the communication device to transmit the sequence number when communication with the communication device is interrupted and communication is possible again.
A sequence number collating step for collating the sequence number received from the communication device with the stored sequence number before disconnecting communication;
A synchronization step of determining whether to synchronize the management state of the communication device with the communication device based on the verification result;
A communication method comprising:

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