JP2014096767A - Communication device and power control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device capable of performing flexible power saving control depending on an operation state while reducing influence on communication.SOLUTION: A communication device having a plurality of communication processing units configuring a redundant system comprises: means for measuring a communication amount processed by a communication processing unit as an active system; means for determining necessity of change of a power consumption mode in which the communication processing unit is driven, depending on a result of the measurement; means for making a communication processing unit as a standby system be driven in the changed power consumption mode, and process a test signal, and performing test processing for determining whether or not the test signal has been processed normally; and changeover means for changing over the communication processing unit as the standby system to be as an active system only when a result of the test processing is normal.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device and a power control method, and can be applied to power saving of the communication device, for example.

  Conventionally, in a communication apparatus such as a transmission apparatus, as a method of saving power, a method of turning off a circuit power (power gating) or a method of stopping a clock (clock gating) when there is no traffic to pass through Exists.

  However, if the circuit power supply or clock is completely turned off, even the minimum required traffic processing cannot be performed, which may greatly affect the communication quality of the communication apparatus. Therefore, there are technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 as conventional technologies aiming at flexible power saving control without greatly affecting the communication quality of the communication device.

  In the communication apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, excessive power consumption is reduced by linking between component groups with a power consumption adjustment function and managing and controlling the component groups.

  The communication device described in Patent Document 2 realizes power saving by monitoring priority traffic for each interface and reducing the data transmission rate of the interface according to the priority traffic.

  Furthermore, conventionally, as shown in Non-Patent Document 1, standardization of means for transmitting and receiving control signals between connected transmission apparatuses and extending the time for stopping the power supply when the traffic is non-conducting has been promoted. .

JP 2011-23980 A JP 2011-166268 A

Yasuyuki Kuroda, "Low power consumption technology in optical access networks", "Proceedings of Society Conference of IEICE 2011_Communications (2)", IEICE, BT-3-6, August 2011 30 days

  By the way, depending on the life cycle of the user who uses the communication device, there is a case where communication is not performed at all in the middle of the night or conversely. Further, in the communication carrier equipment, a communication device that covers an area with many offices has a feature that traffic is reduced only on weekends. If the power consumption of the communication device can be increased or decreased flexibly by grasping the characteristics of such increasing / decreasing traffic, it is possible to realize power saving in the communication device, but the communication will be affected by the power saving control. Things must be avoided.

  However, with conventional communication devices (Patent Documents 1, 2, Non-Patent Document 1, etc.), as described above, it is guaranteed that even if fine power saving control is performed according to the traffic volume, communication is not affected. I can't do it.

  Therefore, there is a demand for a communication device and a power control method that can perform flexible power saving control in accordance with the operating state while reducing the influence of the communication device on communication.

  The first aspect of the present invention is a communication apparatus having a plurality of communication processing units constituting a redundant system. (1) Each of the communication processing units corresponds to a plurality of power consumption modes having different power consumptions. 2) a communication amount measuring means for measuring the amount of communication processed by the communication processing section in the active system; and (3) a power consumption mode for driving the communication processing section in accordance with a measurement result of the communication amount measuring means. A power consumption mode change determining means for determining whether or not a change is necessary; and (4) when the power consumption mode change determining means determines to change the power consumption mode, the standby communication processing unit is set to the power consumption mode. Drive in the power consumption mode after the change determined by the change determination means, and further cause the standby communication processing unit to process a test signal for a communication amount corresponding to the communication amount measured by the communication amount measurement unit, further, Test means for performing test processing to determine whether or not the test signal has been processed normally by the standby communication processing section, and (5) only when the result of the test processing by the test means is normal, The standby communication processing unit includes switching means for switching to the active system.

  The second aspect of the present invention is a power control method for a communication apparatus having a plurality of communication processing units constituting a redundant system. (1) Each of the communication processing units corresponds to a plurality of power consumption modes having different power consumptions. (2) a communication amount measurement step for measuring a communication amount processed by the communication processing unit in the active system; and (3) driving the communication processing unit according to a measurement result of the communication amount measurement step. A power consumption mode change determination step for determining whether or not it is necessary to change the power consumption mode; and (4) when it is determined that the power consumption mode is changed in the power consumption mode change determination step, the standby communication processing unit is Drive in the changed power consumption mode determined in the power consumption mode change determination step, and further, in the standby communication processing unit, a communication amount test signal corresponding to the communication amount measured in the communication amount measurement step The And a test process for performing a test process for determining whether or not the test signal has been processed normally by the standby communication processing unit, and (5) the result of the test process by the test process is normal. Only in this case, the standby communication processing unit has a switching step of switching to the active system.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the communication apparatus which can perform flexible power saving control according to an operation state can be provided, reducing the influence on communication.

It is the block diagram shown about the functional structure of the communication apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is the block diagram shown about the internal structure of the control part which comprises the IF card which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing shown about the structural example of the traffic table set to the communication apparatus (IF card) which concerns on embodiment. It is the sequence diagram shown about operation | movement of the communication apparatus which concerns on embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a test process by a standby IF card according to the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing shown about the structure which adjusts the signal level on BP in the communication apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

(A) Main Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of a communication apparatus and a power control method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(A-1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication device 1 of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, as an example, the communication device 1 is assumed to be a device that functions as a router or the like that relays communication between the network N1 and the network N2. The communication device 1 can be applied to, for example, a broadband router in a subscriber premises (for example, an office or a home) connected to a communication carrier. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 1 is a BP (Back Plane) 10. It is assumed that the switch 20 and two IF (Interface) cards 30 (30-1 and 30-2) are connected to each other. It is assumed that the communication device 1 has a redundant configuration with two IF cards 30-1 and 30-2. In the following description, it is assumed that the IF card 30-1 is operating as an active system and the IF card 30-2 is operating as a standby system as an initial state of the communication apparatus 1. The communication device 1 also includes a main power supply unit 40 that distributes power supplied from an external power source within the communication device 1.

  The BP 10 functions as a transmission path for performing data transmission (data switching) between each unit (the switch 20 and each IF card 30) in the communication device 1. Although the detailed specification of the BP 10 is not limited, various internal buses (for example, switching fabric) used in various communication apparatuses can be applied.

  The communication device 1 has a BP 10 and a switch 20 as a basic configuration, and the IF card 30 is configured to be removable. In this embodiment, in order to simplify the description, the number of interfaces arranged in each IF card 30 is one, but it is natural that a plurality of interfaces may be provided. Further, the number of IF cards 30 arranged in the communication device 1 is not limited. Furthermore, in the communication device 1 of this embodiment, only one redundant system composed of two IF cards 30 is arranged, but one redundant system is configured using three or more IF cards 30. Alternatively, a plurality of redundant systems may be arranged.

  Next, the internal configuration of the switch 20 will be described.

  The switch 20 includes a control unit 21, a WAN termination unit 22, a main signal processing unit 23, two BP termination units 24 (24-1 and 24-2), and a switch unit 25.

  The control unit 21 performs control of each component of the switch 20 and the like.

  The BP termination unit 24 (24-1, 24-2) terminates a signal that the switch 20 exchanges with the BP 10. Here, it is assumed that BP terminators 24-1 and 24-2 are arranged for IF cards 30-1 and 30-2, respectively.

  The WAN termination unit 22 terminates signals exchanged with a line connected to the network N1 (WAN). The interface specification of the line that is terminated by the WAN termination unit 22 is not limited. Interfaces such as Digital Subscriber Line), E-PON (Ethernet (registered trademark) Passive Optical Network), and GE-PON (Gigabit Ethernet-PON) can be applied. The WAN termination unit 22 extracts received packet data from the signal received from the network N1. The WAN termination unit 22 performs processing for converting the supplied transmission packet into a signal corresponding to the connection line and transmitting the signal.

  The main signal processing unit 23 processes the main signal received by the WAN termination unit 22 or the BP termination unit 24.

  The switch unit 25 performs a switch process for transferring the signal transmitted from the main signal processing unit 23 and each BP termination unit 24 to a destination.

  Next, the configuration of the IF card 30 (30-1, 30-2) will be described. Here, description will be made assuming that the configuration of each IF card 30 is the same.

  Each IF card 30 includes a control unit 31, a power supply unit 32, a line termination unit 33, a main signal termination unit 34, and a BP termination unit 35.

  The control unit 31 controls each component of the IF card 30 and the like. The control unit 31 selects any one of a plurality of power consumption modes having different power consumption (power consumption per unit time), and performs control for driving the IF card 30 in the selected power consumption mode. In this embodiment, each IF card 30 is assumed to support three power consumption modes with different power consumption. Specifically, the IF card 30 has three power consumptions: a High setting with the highest power consumption, a Mid setting that operates with lower power consumption than the High setting, and a Low setting that operates with lower power consumption than the Mid setting. It is assumed that the mode is supported. It is assumed that the IF card 30 normally operates in a power setting mode of High setting, and operates in a power saving mode of power saving (Mid setting or Low setting) according to the control of the control unit 31. In the IF card 30, the number of corresponding power consumption modes is not limited.

  In the IF card 30, parameters adjusted for each power consumption mode are not limited. In this embodiment, each power using a drive voltage (voltage of power supplied from the power supply unit 32 to each component) is used. It is assumed that the power consumption in the consumption mode is adjusted.

  And the control part 31 has the processor 31a and the traffic table 31b, as shown in FIG. The processor 31a executes information processing performed by the control unit 31. The traffic table 31b is a table that the processor 31a refers to, and records parameters for each power consumption mode. Details of the traffic table 31b will be described later.

  The BP termination unit 35 terminates a signal that the IF card 30 exchanges with the BP 10.

  The line termination unit 33 terminates a signal to be exchanged with a line connected to the network N2 (for example, a layer 2 switch constituting the network N2). The interface specification of the line that is terminated by the line termination unit 33 is not limited. For example, interfaces of various Ethernet (registered trademark) specifications can be applied. The line termination unit 33 extracts received packet data from the signal received from the network N2. In addition, the line termination unit 33 performs processing for converting the supplied transmission packet into a signal corresponding to the connection line and transmitting the signal.

  The power supply unit 32 further distributes the power distributed from the main power supply unit 40 to each component (circuit) in the IF card 30 to drive the IF card 30. The power supply unit 32 drives the IF card 30 with a drive voltage according to the control of the control unit 31.

  Next, a redundant configuration of the IF card 30 will be described.

  In the communication apparatus 1, two IF cards 30-1 and 30-2 are connected to the network N2. These two IF cards 30-1 and 30-2 are configured as a redundant system (hot standby configuration), and one of them operates as a working system and the other operates as a standby system. The communication device 1 is configured to switch to the other IF card 30 and connect to the network N2 when an abnormality occurs in the working IF card 30. The switching protocol to be applied when switching of the IF card 30 occurs in the communication device 1 is not limited. For example, a protocol such as VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol) can be applied.

  Next, the structure which cooperates between each unit (switch 20 and each IF card 30) is demonstrated.

  In the communication device 1, it is possible to exchange control signals between the control units of each unit (the control unit 21 of the switch 20 and the control unit 31 of each IF card 30) to cooperate with each other. . For communication between the control units, a dedicated signal line may be provided, but in this embodiment, the control signal between the control units is also considered in consideration of an increase in cost due to an increase in the number of signal lines. The same transmission line (BP10) as the main signal is shared.

  Specifically, in the communication apparatus 1, it is assumed that means (in-channel communication means) capable of transmitting signals other than the main signal (for example, the above-described control signal) to the BP 10 is realized. For example, in the communication apparatus 1, an identifier (hereinafter referred to as “control ID”) and a destination identifier (which are related to the BP termination unit of the destination unit) that can be distinguished between the main signal packet and the non-main signal packet It is assumed that the identifier is assigned. That is, in the communication device 1, a destination identifier is assigned to the BP termination unit of each unit, and the control unit of each unit can transmit and receive packets (signals) in units of BP termination units. . For example, the BP termination unit of each unit has a hardware configuration that extracts (drops) a packet in which a control ID in a range other than the main signal is set and notifies the control unit of the unit. May be. Note that the communication device 1 preferably has a configuration in which each unit connected to the BP 10 can recognize a destination identifier of another unit in hardware. As a result, each unit connected to the BP 10 can perform control such as setting change of the power supply in a short time.

  Next, power control of each IF card 30 will be described.

  In the communication apparatus 1, the amount of traffic processed by the active IF card 30 is measured, and the standby IF card 30 is driven in a power consumption mode corresponding to the measured traffic volume, so that the standby IF card A process of switching 30 to the active system is performed.

  In the control unit 31, the processor 31a refers to the traffic table 31b and determines whether or not to change the power consumption mode according to the measured traffic.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the traffic table 31b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the traffic table 31b, a traffic amount and a driving voltage corresponding to each power consumption mode (High setting, Mid setting, Low setting) are defined. Specifically, in the traffic table 31b, Low setting (traffic volume: none, driving voltage: 1.0 [V]), Mid setting (traffic volume: 10,000 [pps], driving voltage: 1.2 [V]) , And High setting (traffic volume: 100,000 [pps], drive voltage: 1.4 [V]) are defined. In FIG. 3, the unit indicating the traffic volume is indicated by pps (Packet / sec).

  For example, the control unit 31 sets the power consumption mode to Mid setting (1.2 [V]) when the measured traffic amount is less than 100,000 pps in the state where the power consumption mode is High setting (1.4 [V]). ). In addition, the control unit 31 determines to change the power consumption mode to the Low setting (1.0 [V]) when the power consumption mode is set to Mid and the measured traffic volume is less than 10,000 pps. To do. Further, the control unit 31 determines to change the power consumption mode to the Mid setting (1.2 [V]) when the measured traffic amount is 10000 pps or more in the state where the power consumption mode is set to Low. To do. Furthermore, the control unit 31 determines that the power consumption mode is changed to the High setting (1.4 [V]) when the measured traffic amount becomes 100,000 pps or more in the state where the power consumption mode is set to Mid. And In this embodiment, the threshold (traffic amount) relating to the transition of each power consumption mode may have a hysteresis characteristic.

  The traffic table 31b needs to be set with a value verified by an experiment or the like. However, in consideration of individual differences in hardware and operating environments (such as operating temperature and processing traffic volume), if control is performed to reduce the drive voltage of the active IF card 30, communication with the IF card 30 will be affected. There is a risk of giving. Further, changing the drive voltage of the active IF card 30 itself may affect the communication of the IF card 30. On the other hand, if a safe value with a large margin is set in the drive voltage of the traffic table 31b, the power saving effect is reduced.

  Therefore, in the communication apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the standby IF card 30 is used to verify that the operation is not affected by the changed drive voltage, and then the standby IF card 30 is switched to the active system. Processing shall be performed. When verifying the operation of the standby IF card 30 in the communication apparatus 1, the standby IF card 30 processes the same amount of traffic as measured by the active IF card 30. In this case, the communication apparatus 1 causes the standby IF card 30 to process the same amount of test traffic (pseudo traffic) as the traffic measured by the working IF card 30. Then, the communication apparatus 1 performs a test process for verifying whether or not the standby IF card 30 is operating normally without any error in a state where the test traffic is conducted to the standby IF card 30.

  In the communication device 1, the test processing (continuity test processing) method using the test traffic (“test traffic generation method” and “test traffic continuity confirmation method”) is not limited. The following method is assumed.

  In the following, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the test traffic having the same traffic volume as the measurement traffic volume measured using the line termination unit 33 of the working IF card 30-1 as the traffic measurement point The case where it is generated by the IF card 30-2 will be described.

  In this case, in the IF card 30-2, a test packet for transmitting test data is generated by the control unit 31, and the line termination unit 33 (the test traffic insertion shown in FIG. Point) to the switch 20 (BP termination unit 24-2: test traffic extraction point shown in FIG. 1).

  Although the content of the test data is not limited, for example, data having a preset pattern and size may be applied.

  The control unit 31 needs to convert the test data into a packet (signal) in a format that can be processed by the line termination unit 33 and then supply the data to the line termination unit 33. In this embodiment, as an example, the control unit 31 converts the test data into a packet to which an error correction code by CRC calculation or the like is added.

  Note that when generating the test packet, the control unit 31 adds a control ID that can be distinguished from the main signal to the test data as a header. As a result, the BP termination unit 24-2 (test traffic extraction point shown in FIG. 1) of the switch unit 25 identifies and extracts (drops) the test packet by hardware processing based on the control ID described above. be able to.

  The control unit 21 of the switch 20 can monitor the test packet extraction status by the BP termination unit 24-2 and confirm (test processing) whether the test packet is normally received. For example, a bit error can be detected by CRC calculation (decoding processing) of the BP termination unit 24-2, such as when the setup / hold time cannot satisfy the specification because the drive voltage of the IF card 30-2 is low. . The control unit 21 of the switch 20 notifies the transmission source (standby IF card 30-2) to that effect every time an error is detected by the BP termination unit 24-2.

  Then, in the backup IF card 30, when the test process using the test traffic is NG, the drive voltage optimization process (correction process) is performed.

  For example, the backup IF card 30 performs a test process using test traffic with the drive voltage set for the changed power consumption mode (drive voltage set in the traffic table 31b) as an initial value. If the result is NG, the test process is repeated by increasing the drive voltage by a predetermined step width until the test result becomes OK. As a result, the standby IF card 30 searches for the optimum drive voltage for the power consumption mode. In this embodiment, an upper limit value (n) is set for the number of times the test process is continuously performed in the standby IF card 30.

  For example, if the standby IF card 30 (control unit 31) fails the test process n times in succession, the final test process result is stored in the active IF card 30 (control unit 31). It shall be notified that it was NG. When the active IF card 30 (control unit 31) receives notification from the standby IF card 30 (control unit 31) that the test process has failed, the current IF card 30 (control unit 31) The operation shall continue. In this case, for example, the active IF card 30 (control unit 31) stops the determination related to the change of the power consumption mode for a predetermined period of time, and the standby IF card 30 (control unit 31). It may be.

  When the test process is continuously performed in the standby IF card 30, the step width for increasing the drive voltage is not limited. However, in this embodiment, as an example, the initial value (setting of the traffic table 31b) is used. Value) of 5% shall be applied.

  For example, in the standby IF card 30, the drive voltage is set to the value of the traffic table 31b in the first test process. In the standby IF card 30, the drive voltage is set to an initial value (drive voltage of the first test process) plus 5% (initial value × 1.05) in the second test process. . In the spare IF card 30, in the third test process, the drive voltage is set to an initial value plus 10% (initial value × 1.10).

  As described above, when the test processing using the test traffic is successful in the standby IF card 30, the standby IF card 30 continues to operate at the drive voltage that has been successfully tested, The system IF card 30 is notified of the success of the test process. After that, after all the normality confirmation (for example, normality confirmation by the self-diagnosis function in the communication device 1) is obtained for the standby IF card 30, the active IF card 30 and the standby IF card 30 A redundant system switching process is performed in cooperation with the card 30. As a result, the standby IF card 30 is switched to the active system, and the active IF card 30 is switched to the standby system.

  Next, the adjustment of the signal level in the communication device 1 (in the BP 10) will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, illustrations are omitted except for the configuration related to the signal level adjustment related to the BP 10 in order to simplify the description.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the communication device 1, each BP termination unit includes a transceiver (hereinafter referred to as “TR”) for exchanging signals with the BP 10. Specifically, the BP termination units 24-1 and 24-2 on the switch 20 side each have a TR 24a. Moreover, the BP termination | terminus part 35 by the side of IF card 30-1 and 30-2 has TR35a, respectively.

  As described above, each IF card 30 is driven with a voltage corresponding to the power consumption mode. That is, the TR 35a of each IF card 30 is driven at a drive voltage corresponding to the power consumption mode of the IF card 30. Therefore, the TR 35a of each IF card 30 supplies a signal of a level corresponding to the drive voltage to the BP 10.

  As a result, the BP termination units 24-1 and 24-2 on the switch 20 side supply different levels of signals for each IF card 30. For this reason, in the BP termination units 24-1 and 24-2 of this embodiment, a level conversion unit 24b that performs conversion (adjustment) is arranged so that the signal level received by the TR 24a is uniform.

  The level conversion unit 24b performs conversion of the signal level received by the corresponding TR 24a in accordance with the control of the control unit 21. The control unit 21 of the switch 20 communicates with the control unit 31 of each IF card 30, recognizes the power consumption mode of each IF card 30, and converts the converted content into the corresponding BP termination unit 24 (level conversion unit 24b) ( Specify the adjustment details.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the IF card 30-1 is operating in the power setting mode of High setting (normal setting), level conversion is not necessary for the signal from the IF card 30-1. The control unit 21 controls the level conversion unit 24b of the BP termination unit 24-1 to stop the level conversion process (inactive state). Also, as shown in FIG. 6, when the IF card 30-2 is operating in the power consumption mode of the Mid setting (power saving setting), it is necessary to perform level conversion on the signal from the IF card 30-2. Therefore, the control unit 21 controls the level conversion unit 24b of the BP termination unit 24-2 so as to execute a level conversion process corresponding to the Mid setting (active state).

(A-2) Operation | movement of embodiment Next, operation | movement (power control method of embodiment) of the communication apparatus 1 of this embodiment which has the above structures is demonstrated.

  First, the overall operation of the communication apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  In the sequence diagram of FIG. 4, it is assumed that the IF card 30-1 operates as a working system and the IF card 30-2 operates as a standby system as an initial state. In the sequence diagram of FIG. 4, it is assumed that the IF card 30-1 has started operation with High setting in the initial state.

  Here, first, it is assumed that the current IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) starts the traffic measurement and the determination process of whether or not the power consumption mode needs to be changed (S101).

  At this time, since the active IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) is in a High setting state, when the measured traffic volume is less than 100,000 pps, the power consumption mode is set to Mid (1.2). [V]) is determined to be changed. In this case, the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) sets the power consumption mode to the Mid setting (1.2 [1.2 [] when the measured traffic volume is less than 100,000 pps for a certain period of time or longer. V]). This is a process for preventing occurrence of frequent (flapping) power consumption mode changes.

  The method of measuring traffic with the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) is not limited. For example, the line termination unit 33, which is a traffic measurement point, is monitored and input from the network N2. The number of packets may be measured. If the communication device 1 is a communication device that supports SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), the traffic measurement may be performed by referring to the MIB (Management Information Base) value corresponding to the traffic measurement. Good.

  After that, in the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31), the state where the measured traffic amount is less than 100,000 pps continues for a certain period of time and the power consumption mode is set to Mid (1.2 [V]). )) (S102).

  Then, the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) instructs the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) to perform test processing using the test traffic (S103). At this time, the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) notifies the value (Mid setting: 1.2V) of the traffic table 31b and the latest measured traffic volume A. Here, it is assumed that the measured traffic volume A is a value represented by the number of packets “pps” per second.

  Then, the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) executes a test process in cooperation with the switch 20 (control unit 21) (S104). In step S104, when the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) performs the test process with the drive voltage set to the initial value (Mid setting: 1.2 V), the result is NG. Also performs a process of optimizing (correcting) the drive voltage. Details of the test process performed by the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) and the switch 20 (control unit 21) will be described later.

  Here, the test processing in step S104 is OK, and that is notified from the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) to the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31). (S105).

  If the test process is OK, system switching is executed by the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) and the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) ( S106). As a result, the IF card 30-1 operates as a standby system, and the IF card 30-2 operates as an active system. At this time, in the communication apparatus 1, it is desirable to input actual traffic to the standby IF card 30-2 and execute system switching after confirming normality such as synchronization establishment and link-up.

  After the system switching, the active IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) starts the traffic measurement and the determination process for determining whether or not the power consumption mode needs to be changed (S107).

  After that, it is determined by the determination of the working IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) that the Mid setting is changed to the Low setting or the High setting as necessary.

  If the test processing result notified from the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) is NG in step S105, the active IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) The process may be executed from the above-described step S101 after a certain time has elapsed.

  Next, the test process (including the drive voltage optimization process) performed by the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) in step S104 described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, V1 is a variable that holds a drive voltage for performing the test process. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the counter C counts the number of times that the test process has been performed.

  When an instruction for test processing (including information on the initial value of the driving voltage for test processing and measurement traffic amount A) is notified from the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31), first, the standby system The IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) initializes V1 and the counter C (S201).

  The standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) initializes C to 0 and the initial power consumption mode (Mid setting) notified of V1 from the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31). Set to value.

  Then, the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) controls the power supply unit 32 so as to be driven with the voltage of V1, and further indicates that the switch 20 starts to be driven with the Mid setting. Notification is made (S202). As a result, the switch 20 controls the start of level conversion (level correction) for the level conversion unit 24b of the BP termination unit 24-2.

  Then, the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) sends test traffic from the line termination unit 33 toward the BP termination unit 24-2 of the switch 20. At this time, the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) controls the flow of the test traffic so that the number of packets per second in the test traffic is A. Further, the period from when the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) starts sending the test traffic to when it is finished is not limited, but for example, it may be a preset fixed time. Good. Further, the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) accumulates (or counts) error notifications from the switch 20 (control unit 21) after starting transmission of the test traffic.

  Then, the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) determines whether or not the current test process is successful (OK or NG) after the test traffic transmission process (S204). For example, the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) may determine that the current test process is OK when the ratio of the number of error notifications to the number of transmitted packets is equal to or less than a certain value. Further, for example, the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) may determine that the current test process is OK when the number of error notifications is a predetermined number or less.

  The standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) operates from step S205 described later when the current test processing result is OK, and operates from step S206 described later when the current test processing result is NG. .

  If the current test processing result is OK in step S204 described above, the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) indicates that the final test processing result is also OK, and indicates that the current IF card is active. 30-1 (control unit 31) is notified (S205), and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the current test process result is NG in step S204 described above, the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) starts or continues the drive voltage optimization process (correction process). Become.

  If the current test processing result is NG, the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) updates V1 (adds 5% of the initial value) (S206), and further increments the counter C (adds 1). (S207).

  Then, the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) determines whether or not the value of the counter C has reached n (S208).

  When the value of the counter C does not reach n (when C is less than n), the backup IF card 30-2 (control unit 31) returns to the process of step S202 described above, and the drive voltage Continue the optimization process.

  On the other hand, when the value of the counter C reaches n (when c = n), it indicates that the test process is NG n times, so that the standby IF card 30-2 (control unit 31). ) Stops the drive voltage optimization process, notifies the working IF card 30-1 (control unit 31) that the final test process result is also NG (S209), and performs the process. finish.

(A-3) Effects of Embodiment According to this embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.

(A-3-1) In the communication device 1 of the above embodiment, when changing the power consumption mode of the IF card 30, the test is performed using the test traffic on the standby IF card 30 to perform the test. After being OK, the backup IF card 30 is switched to the active system. Thereby, in the communication apparatus 1, the influence on the main signal conduction | electrical_connection at the time of changing power consumption mode is reduced.

(A-3-2) Moreover, in the communication apparatus 1, it is the structure (in-channel communication means) which passes a control signal on the same transmission line as a main signal, and between the control parts of each unit (switch 20 and each IF card 30). Realization of cooperation in

  For example, a method of providing a CPU (control unit) that mediates control between units in the communication apparatus 1 to realize cooperation between the units is conceivable. However, processing time may increase due to software. There is. In particular, when the number of cooperating units (for example, the number of IF cards 30) in the communication device 1 increases, the processing load on the CPU described above may increase, and processing delay may occur. However, in this embodiment, since the control signals are directly exchanged and linked between the control units of each unit, there is little possibility that the above processing delay occurs.

(B) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may include modified embodiments as exemplified below.

(B-1) In the IF card of the above embodiment, the power consumption in each power consumption mode is adjusted by the drive voltage. However, the power consumption may be adjusted using other parameters. Good. For example, in the IF card, the power consumption may be adjusted by adjusting the frequency of the operation clock and the bus width for data processing.

  When the operation clock is lowered in the IF card, driving with lower power consumption can be realized. In this case, in the IF card, for example, after the data related to the received signal is written in the memory with the transmission line clock at the line termination unit and the BP termination unit, the clock frequency on the reading side from the memory is lowered, The power consumption of the signal processing unit (main signal termination unit) may be reduced.

(B-2) In the communication apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the test process using the test traffic is performed when the power consumption mode is changed, but the power consumption mode is changed to a higher power consumption mode. In some cases (for example, when changing from the Mid setting to the High setting), the test processing step may be omitted. Furthermore, when changing to the power consumption mode with higher power consumption, the communication device of the above embodiment performs only the process of increasing the drive voltage of the working IF card without performing system switching. May be. As a result, even when traffic suddenly increases, the power supply voltage can be restored (the power consumption mode is restored to the High setting) by high-speed hardware control of each unit (switch and each IF card). In each IF card, it is desirable that a buffer memory is arranged at the main signal termination unit or the like to allow data related to transmission / reception signals to pass through, assuming that traffic suddenly increases. For example, when a process of restoring the power supply voltage (returning the power consumption mode to high setting) is performed with the IF card, the data related to the transmission / reception signal can be safely held in the buffer memory.

(B-3) The communication device 1 according to the above-described embodiment performs a test process related to a flow in one direction (direction from the IF card 30 to the switch 20) when performing a test process using the test traffic. However, test processing related to a bidirectional flow may be performed. In that case, the communication device 1 may add a flow of test traffic flowing from the BP termination unit 24 of the switch 20 toward the IF card 30 (line termination unit 33) when performing the test processing. . When performing a test process for bidirectional communication, the active IF card 30 needs to perform traffic measurement on two flows: a flow input from the network N2 and a flow transmitted to the network N2.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication apparatus, 10 ... BP, 20 ... Switch, 21 ... Control part, 22 ... WAN termination part, 23 ... Main signal processing part, 24, 24-1, 24-2 ... BP termination part, 25 ... Switch part, 30, 30-1, 30-2 ... IF card, 31 ... control unit, 31a ... processor, 31b ... traffic table, 32 ... power supply unit, 33 ... line termination unit, 34 ... main signal termination unit, 35 ... BP termination unit .

Claims (4)

In a communication device having a plurality of communication processing units constituting a redundant system,
Each of the above communication processing units supports a plurality of power consumption modes with different power consumption,
A communication amount measuring means for measuring a communication amount processed by the communication processing unit of the active system;
Power consumption mode change determining means for determining whether or not it is necessary to change the power consumption mode for driving the communication processing unit according to the measurement result of the communication amount measuring means;
When the power consumption mode change determining unit determines to change the power consumption mode, the standby communication processing unit is driven in the changed power consumption mode determined by the power consumption mode change determining unit, and The standby communication processing unit processes a test signal having a communication amount corresponding to the communication amount measured by the communication amount measuring unit, and the test signal is normally processed by the standby communication processing unit. A test means for performing a test process for determining whether or not
A communication apparatus comprising: a switching unit that switches the standby communication processing unit to the active system only when the result of the test processing by the test unit is normal.   2. The plurality of power consumption modes to which each of the communication processing units corresponds corresponds to at least a driving voltage for operating the communication processing unit, an operation clock, or a bus width related to data processing. The communication apparatus as described in.   When the result of the test process in the power consumption mode after the change determined by the power consumption mode change determination unit is abnormal, the test unit corrects the parameter related to the power consumption mode and performs the test process again. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein In a power control method for a communication device having a plurality of communication processing units constituting a redundant system,
Each of the above communication processing units supports a plurality of power consumption modes with different power consumption,
A traffic measurement process for measuring the traffic processed by the communication processor of the active system,
In accordance with the measurement result of the communication amount measurement step, a power consumption mode change determination step for determining whether or not it is necessary to change the power consumption mode for driving the communication processing unit,
When it is determined in the power consumption mode change determination step that the power consumption mode is changed, the standby communication processing unit is driven in the changed power consumption mode determined in the power consumption mode change determination step. The standby communication processing unit processes a communication amount test signal corresponding to the communication amount measured in the communication amount measurement step, and the standby communication processing unit normally processes the test signal. A test process for performing a test process for determining whether or not
A power control method comprising: a switching step of switching the standby communication processing unit to the active system only when the result of the test processing by the test step is normal.

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