JP2019080209A - Management device and method for managing data transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To set a data transfer rule to a relay device, and reset the data transfer rule of the relay device at appropriate timing.SOLUTION: A management device comprises: transmission means that transmits, to a relay device 102 to which resources 103-106 are connected, a request for notifying the management device about a change in the values of the resources 103-106 when there is such a change: acquisition means that acquires an expiration date of data of a resource from responses from the resources 103 to 106; setting means that sets an expiration date of a transfer rule on the basis of the expiration date of the data of the resource and sets a transfer rule to the relay device 102; detection means that detects the expiration of the transfer rule; retransmission means that retransmits the above request to the relay device 102 when the expiration of the transfer rule is detected; reacquisition means that reacquires the expiration date of the data of the resource from responses from the resources 103 to 106 to the retransmitted request; and resetting means that sets the expiration date of the transfer rule on the basis of the expiration date of the data of the reacquired resource and resets the transfer rule to the relay device 102.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a management apparatus that manages an apparatus that transfers data.

  There is an organization called Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) for the purpose of standardizing communication between devices participating in a network. By using the technology based on the specifications standardized by the OCF (hereinafter referred to as the OCF technology), it becomes possible to obtain and manipulate data expressed as resources among the devices. A resource is a concept that includes things (temperature sensors, lights, etc.) including physically existing sensors and devices, and behavior of things (lights on / off, etc.).

  Note that, in order for the management device that manages the resource to communicate with the resource, a Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) protocol (RFC 7252) can be used. By performing monitoring request (Observe) on resources, CoAP can receive notification (Notify) when there is a change in the value of sensor data emitted from the resources (Patent Document 1). Also, the notification includes Max-age of sensor data. Max-age is the time to guarantee the freshness of the data, that is, the expiration date when the notified data can be used as the latest one.

  In addition, when a notification from a resource is transferred to a specific data processing server and the data processing server analyzes the resource, OpenFlow (registered trademark) can be used as a technology for performing transfer control. In OpenFlow, data transfer control can be centrally managed by separately providing a data transfer device (OpenFlow switch) and a control device (OpenFlow controller) that controls the data transfer device.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-535359

  A case will be considered in which the management apparatus sends a monitoring request (Observe) to the resource of the sensor apparatus and the transfer apparatus transfers a notification packet from the resource to the data processing server.

  In this case, when the transfer device transfers all of the notification packets from the resource to the data processing server, the management device will not receive the notification packets. For this reason, the management apparatus can not know the Max-age of data included in the Notify packet. Therefore, even if the sensor resource is reset and loses the monitoring (Observed) state, the management apparatus loses the timing for performing the monitoring request (Observe) again.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a technique capable of setting data transfer rules in the relay device by the management device, and resetting the data transfer rules of the relay device as needed at appropriate timing. Do.

The management device of the present invention is
A management apparatus that manages a relay apparatus that relays data from a communication apparatus connected to a network to an information processing apparatus,
The relay apparatus has setting means for setting a transfer rule comprising a pair of transfer conditions of data and transfer processing executed when the transfer condition is satisfied,
The setting means sets the transfer rule in the relay device so as to be invalidated when a predetermined time elapses, detects that the transfer rule has become invalid, and relays the transfer rule as necessary. It is characterized by resetting to the device.

  According to the present invention, the management apparatus can set the data transfer rule to the relay device along with the valid time, and detect the lapse of the valid time of the data transfer rule, thereby making it possible to carry out as needed at an appropriate timing. Thus, the data transfer rules can be reset in the relay device.

The system configuration figure of the information processing system by one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of a device management server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of a sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of an IoT-GW according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram of transfer control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of processing at the start of transfer control according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart of a modification of the process at the start of transfer control according to the first embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart of transfer control processing when a flow entry is deleted according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram of transfer control according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present invention, the communication device is not limited to the sensor device, but for easy understanding, the communication device is the sensor device, the relay device is the IoT-GW, the management device is the device management server, and the information processing device that processes data is the sensor Description will be made using a data processing server. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are essential to the present invention.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a WSN 108 having sensor devices 103, 104, 105 and 106, a LAN 107, a device management server 101, an IoT-GW 102, and a sensor data processing server 109. Furthermore, the sensor data processing server 111 is connected to the LAN 107 via the WAN 110. In the present embodiment, when the sensor devices 103, 104, 105, and 106 are collectively referred to, they are referred to as sensor devices 103 to 106.

  The IoT-GW 102 connects to both the WSN 108 and the LAN 107. The connection between the IoT-GW 102 and the LAN 107 may be, for example, a wired connection such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Then, the IoT-GW 102 connects with the device management server 101 and the sensor data processing server 109 via the LAN 107 to execute IPv6 communication. Also, it connects with the sensor data processing server 111 via the LAN 107 and the WAN 110 to execute IPv6 communication. Furthermore, the IoT-GW 102 has a function of a data transfer device (OpenFlow switch) in OpenFlow (registered trademark).

  The sensor data processing server 111 may be a server on a virtualization platform generally called a cloud. In the present embodiment, the IoT-GW 102 may have not only a function as a gateway but also a function as a network camera or a printer, or even if the IoT-GW 102 has a sensor. good. Further, it may be a PC, a smartphone, a router, etc. which can execute an application that performs other processing. Besides IPv6 communication, communication by IPv4 may be performed. Although the IoT-GW 102 has the function of the OpenFlow switch in this embodiment, a device separately connected to the LAN 107 may have the function of the OpenFlow switch.

  The device management server 101 is a server that performs connection to the system, setting of the system, and management of states of devices and sensor devices that constitute the information processing system. The device management server 101 also has a function of a control device (OpenFlow controller) that controls transfer processing rules of the IoT-GW 102. The device management server 101 transmits a transfer rule called a flow entry to the IoT-GW 102. The IoT-GW 102 that has received the flow entry stores it in the flow table, and performs data transfer processing by referring to this. The flow entry includes a condition (matching rule) for determining whether to transfer the received data, and a processing group (action list) to be executed when the received data conforms to the matching rule. . It also indicates the expiration date of the flow information itself (the expiration date of the transfer rule), the idle timeout period that expires if the flow information (matching rules and action list) is not referenced for a certain period of time, and how many times the flow entry has been referenced. The counter is included. Also, information such as priority indicating the priority to apply the flow entry is included.

  The sensor data processing server 109 and the sensor data processing server 111 are information processing apparatuses that perform data processing, and execute collection, accumulation, analysis, and the like of sensor data transmitted by sensor devices in the information processing system.

  On the other hand, the IoT-GW 102 and the sensor devices 103 to 106 construct a WSN 108 which is a mesh network by wireless PAN communication. The WSN 108 is not limited to a mesh network topology, and may be a star network centered on the IoT-GW 102. Note that another device other than the IoT-GW 102 and the sensor devices 103 to 106 may be connected to the WSN 108. The communication standard of the wireless PAN includes, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), and Wi-SUN (registered trademark). The communication of WSN 108 uses the protocol of any of these wireless PAN standards, but uses 6LoWPAN as the protocol of the upper network layer.

  Each of the sensor devices 103-106 transmits a wireless PAN frame that includes 6Lo WPAN packets. The IoT-GW 102 performs packet transfer between the WSN 108 and the LAN 107. In the case of transferring a packet from the WSN 108 to the LAN 107, a 6LoWPAN protocol packet is converted into an IPv6 packet. Conversely, when forwarding from the LAN 107 to the WSN 108, the IPv6 packet is converted into a 6Lo WPAN packet.

  In the information processing system 100, the device management server 101 manages devices such as the sensor devices 103 to 106, the IoT-GW 102, and sensors possessed by them as resources in the OCF technology. That is, the device management server 101 searches for the sensor devices 103 to 106 and the IoT-GW 102 by performing device search using the OCF technology. Furthermore, the device management server 101 sends a monitoring request (Observe) to the resource possessed by the searched device, and transmits a request packet for registration, acquisition, update, deletion, and monitoring to the resource, whereby the sensor device It is possible to obtain resource information possessed by the IOH 103-106 and the IoT-GW 102 and to control behavior.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the device management server 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 2 represents the device management server 101 in FIG. The device management server 101 mainly has a hardware configuration in which the CPU 202, the RAM 203, the ROM 204, the LAN control unit 207, the transfer control management unit 205, and the device resource management unit 206 are connected to the system bus 201. The system bus 201 transmits data between the blocks such as the CPU 202 to be connected.

  Programs executed by the CPU 202 include an OS, an application, and a TCP / IP protocol stack. The RAM 203 is a main storage unit of the device management server 101, and is mainly used as a temporary storage area of data when the CPU 202, the transfer control management unit 205, and the device resource management unit 206 execute processing. The ROM 204 is a non-volatile storage unit in which a software program executed by the CPU 202 is stored. The program stored in the ROM 204 is transferred to the RAM 203, read by the CPU 202, and executed. The LAN control unit 207 is a communication interface connected to the LAN 107, and executes communication control of a wired LAN or a wireless LAN. For example, when the device management server 101 is connected via a wired LAN, the LAN control unit 207 includes PHY and MAC (transmission media control) hardware circuits of transmission media. When the wired LAN to be connected is Ethernet (registered trademark), the LAN control unit 207 corresponds to a NIC (Network Interface Card) of Ethernet (registered trademark). Alternatively, when the device management server 101 is connected by a wireless LAN, the LAN control unit 207 includes a controller that executes wireless LAN control such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, an RF circuit, and an antenna. Be

  The transfer control management unit 205 is a functional unit that generates and manages a flow entry to be transmitted to the OpenFlow switch. Also, data transmission / reception using the OpenFlow protocol is performed with the OpenFlow switch via the LAN control unit 207. Although the transfer control management unit 205 is configured as a separate circuit in the present embodiment, it may be a program executed by the CPU 202. The “setting means” according to the present invention is a means for setting and managing a flow entry in the OpenFlow switch, and regardless of the form, the management transfer control management unit 205 or the CPU 202 or the management transfer control management unit 205 cooperates with the CPU 202 Or a separate circuit.

  The device resource management unit 206 is a functional block for operating as a client of OCF technology. By processing data acquisition (RETRIEVE), registration of information (CREATE), update (UPDATE), deletion (DELETE), etc. for resources, sensor data can be acquired from sensor devices in the system, or Control the behavior. Also, by performing monitoring request (observation) on resources using CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol), notification (Notify) is received when there is a change in the sensor data value emitted by the resource.

  Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the sensor device 103 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the sensor device 103 of the present embodiment. 103 of FIG. 3 represents the sensor device 103 of FIG. The sensor device 103 includes an MCU (Micro Control Unit) 301 which is an integrated circuit in which hardware such as a microprocessor, a RAM, a ROM, and a serial communication bus interface are integrated into one, a PAN control unit 302, and a sensor unit 303. Ru. The PAN control unit 302 and the sensor unit 303 are connected to the MCU 301 via one of serial communication buses such as UART, I2C, and SPI.

  The MCU 301 executes processing such as control of each functional unit, wireless PAN protocol processing, acquisition and transmission of sensor data, and the like. These processes are implemented as a software program recorded inside the MCU 301.

  The PAN control unit 302 is a communication interface of the wireless PAN standard connected to the WSN 108. It has the same function as the LAN control unit 207 of FIG. Also, the sensor unit 303 measures some value or event such as gyro, acceleration, azimuth, distance, vibration, temperature, humidity, illuminance, UV, atmospheric pressure, gas, radioactivity, odor, opening and closing of a door or window, intrusion detection, etc. It is an integrated circuit including a sensor element capable of sensing and an A / D converter. The program executed by the MCU 301 acquires data from the sensor unit 303 and creates sensor data. Then, sensor data is transmitted to the WSN 108 by outputting the sensor data to the PAN control unit 302.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the sensor device 103 has a software program for operating as a server of the OCF technology. It is possible to receive operation requests for registration, acquisition, update, and deletion from other devices for resources.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the sensor devices 103 to 106 have the same hardware configuration, but the types of sensors included in the sensor unit 303 may be different. Moreover, the sensor contained in the sensor unit 303 is not limited to one, and may have a plurality of types of sensors.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the IoT-GW 102 will be described with reference to FIG. 102 of FIG. 4 represents the IoT-GW 102 of FIG. The IoT-GW 102 mainly has a hardware configuration in which the CPU 402, the RAM 403, the ROM 404, the PAN control unit 408, the LAN control unit 407, the transfer control unit 405, and the transfer processing unit 406 are connected to the system bus 401. The system bus 401 transmits data between blocks such as the connected CPU 402.

  Programs executed by the CPU 402 include an OS, an application, a TCP / IP protocol stack, and a wireless PAN protocol stack. A RAM 403 is a main storage unit of the IoT-GW 102, and is mainly used as a temporary storage area of data when the CPU 402, the transfer control unit 405, and the transfer processing unit 406 execute processing. The ROM 404 is a non-volatile storage unit in which a software program executed by the CPU 402 is stored. The program stored in the ROM 404 is transferred to the RAM 403, read by the CPU 402, and executed. The PAN control unit 408 is a communication interface of the wireless PAN standard connected to the WSN 108. It performs communication control of the physical layer corresponding to the wireless PAN standard and MAC layer, and provides functions of wireless connection with the WSN 108 and transmission and reception of packets. For example, in the case of ZigBee (registered trademark), physical link control compliant with IEEE 802.15.4 is performed. In the present embodiment, the IoT-GW 102 is connected to the WSN 108 in the mesh network configuration. However, in the case of Bluetooth (registered trademark), the IoT-GW 102 and the sensor device may communicate in a peer-to-peer connection.

  The LAN control unit 407 is a communication interface connected to the LAN 107, and executes communication control of a wired LAN or a wireless LAN. When the IoT-GW 102 is connected by a wired LAN, the LAN control unit 407 includes PHY and MAC (Transmission Media Control) hardware circuits of transmission media. For example, when the wired LAN to be connected is Ethernet (registered trademark), the LAN control unit 407 corresponds to a NIC (Network Interface Card) of Ethernet (registered trademark). Alternatively, when the IoT-GW 102 is connected by a wireless LAN, the LAN control unit 407 includes a controller that executes wireless LAN control such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, an RF circuit, and an antenna. .

  The transfer control unit 405 determines whether the wireless PAN frame received by the PAN control unit 408 from the WSN 108 is to be processed by the transfer processing unit 406. This determination also includes determining whether the wireless PAN frame contains a 6Lo WPAN packet. As a result of this determination, the frame having the 6Lo WPAN packet is converted from the frame format of the wireless PAN standard into the Ethernet frame format that can be processed by the transfer processing unit 406. Furthermore, the payload data of the frame converts the packet format from 6LoWPAN to IPv6. After these conversion processes, the frame is input to the transfer processing unit 406.

  The transfer processing unit 406 is a functional unit that performs frame transfer processing. The transfer target frame includes a frame received by the PAN control unit 408 and input via the transfer control unit 405, and a frame transmitted by the TCP / IP protocol stack executed by the CPU 402. The transfer processing unit 406 analyzes the input frame, checks the transfer condition of the frame, and executes the process related to the transfer of the frame. The transfer processing unit 406 sets header information (for example, each field of the Ethernet header and the IPv6 header) for the frame transferred to the LAN 107 side. Typically, the destination field of the IPv6 header information of the transfer frame is set.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a process sequence of resource management processing conforming to OCF of the sensor apparatus 103 and transfer control using OpenFlow performed by the device management server 101 will be described.

  First, in step 501, the device management server 101 determines the sensor device 103 to be monitored. Then, in step 502, a monitoring request packet is transmitted. As a result, a monitoring request (Observe) is issued to the resource using CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol).

  Next, in processing 503, the IoT-GW 102 converts the monitoring request packet received from the device management server 101 into a frame of a sensor network that can be received by the sensor device 103, and transfers it to the sensor device 103 in processing 504.

  Next, based on the received monitoring request, the sensor device 103 shifts the resources of the sensor device 103 to the monitoring state (observed) of the device management server 101.

  Then, in order to notify that the monitoring request has been received, a notification packet is sent back in processing 505. In this return packet, a packet including the freshness of the resource, that is, Max-age which is the expiration date of the data of the resource is transmitted. The IoT-GW 102 converts the packet received from the sensor device 103 in the process 506 into a format that can be transferred to the LAN network, and then searches the flow table for performing transfer control. As a result of the search, it is detected that the corresponding flow entry is not present in the flow table, and the device management server 101 is inquired of the transfer destination rule in processing 507 using the Packet_In message of the OpenFlow protocol.

  Next, in step 508, the device management server 101 acquires Max-age from the notification packet from the sensor device 103 included in the received Packet_In message.

  Then, using Max-age, a flow entry serving as a rule for transferring the packet from the sensor device 103 to the sensor data processing server 111 is generated.

  Here, the process flow of the device management server 101 in the process 508 will be described using FIGS. 6 and 7.

  In step S601, a monitoring request (Observe) packet is transmitted to the sensor device 103. In step S602, reception of a notification (Notify) packet for the monitoring request packet transmitted in step S601 is awaited. Although not shown, when there is no response such as lost of packet, retransmission control is performed using the CoAP protocol. When the response packet is not received, the sensor device 103 may be excluded from the monitoring target. If a notification packet is received, it will progress to step S603. Although it is assumed that the received notification packet is information included in the Packet_In message conforming to the OpenFlow protocol, the packet transmitted by the sensor device 103 may be transferred as it is depending on the operation of the OpenFlow switch.

  In step S604, it is confirmed whether the received notification packet includes Max-age. Max-age is information in a packet to which a Max-age option defined by CoAP is added. If the notification packet includes Max-age, the process proceeds to step S604. If not included, the process proceeds to step S605.

  In step S604, the Max-age acquired from the notification packet is set in the valid time information used in the transfer rule setting process of step S606. Although Max-age may be set as the valid time information as it is, it may be set by performing arbitrary processing based on Max-age, or may be set to a time shorter than Max-age. When setting to a time shorter than Max-age, the state of the sensor device can be confirmed at time intervals shorter than Max-age as described later.

  In step S605, since Max-age is not included in the packet, a predetermined predetermined value is set as the valid time information. The predetermined value may be a parameter that can be set in the management server, or may be a value held by default. In addition, it may be a value that can be set by external control.

  The transfer rule setting process of step S606 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S701, the monitoring policy of the device management server 101 is confirmed. The monitoring policy is a policy for positively checking whether the sensor device is in the monitoring state. As the monitoring policy, it is possible to determine whether to perform setting control with an idle timeout, to perform setting control with an expiration date of the flow entry, and to check how often the monitoring state of the sensor device 103 is checked. Note that this monitoring policy may be a single setting for the entire system, or may be specified for each sensor device to be monitored or for each resource. Also, the monitoring policy may be a value that can be set externally or in the device management server 101 by a predetermined process, or may be a value determined in advance at the time of activation or the like. Note that, according to the present monitoring policy, the device management server 101 can control whether the sensor device 103 is in the monitoring state, and whether or not it is frequently checked. In the case where it is frequently performed, it is possible to shorten the time for detecting that the monitoring state has been lost due to the restart of the sensor device or the resource, but on the other hand, the amount of packets transferred to the device management server 101 is Increase. Conversely, if not frequently performed, it takes more time to detect that the monitoring state has been lost, but the amount of packets transferred to the device management server 101 is suppressed.

  In step S702, based on the monitoring policy confirmed in step S701, it is determined whether to perform setting control of the idle timeout. When setting control is performed with the idle timeout, the process proceeds to step S704, and when setting control is performed with the expiration date of the flow entry, the process proceeds to step S703.

  In step S703, the determined valid time information is set to the valid period when generating the flow entry, and the process proceeds to step S705. When setting control is performed based on the expiration date of the flow entry, the idle timeout value may be invalid or may be longer than the expiration date of the flow entry.

  In step S704, the determined valid time information is set to the idle timeout value at the time of generating the flow entry. When setting control is performed with the idle timeout, the expiration date of the flow entry may be specified to be longer than the idle timeout time, or may be invalid. In addition, idle timeout can set time shorter than Max-age.

  In step S 705, in the transfer rule of the flow entry, the packet from the sensor device 103 is specified as a rule to be transferred after being converted such as an IP address so as to be transferred to the transfer destination device.

  The flow entry generated in step S706 is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102.

  A flow entry is generated using the valid time information specified based on Max-age or the like according to the above processing flow, and is set in the IoT-GW 102.

  In this embodiment, control is made to forward the packet from the sensor device to the device management server by expiration of the flow entry using the expiration date of the flow entry or the idle timeout value, but it is another method Good. For example, a method of managing flow entries that is newly introduced by version upgrade of the OpenFlow protocol may be used. In addition, it is sufficient that the packet transferred from the sensor device to the data processing server is transferred to the device management server at predetermined timing by control of the flow entry.

  Next, in process 509, the device management server 101 transmits the generated flow entry to the IoT-GW 102 using the Flow_mod message of the OpenFlow protocol, and sets it in the OpenFlow switch as a transfer rule. Thereafter, in process 510, the notification packet from the sensor device 103 received in the Packet_in message is sent back to the IoT-GW 102 using the Packet_out message. In the process 511, the IoT-GW 102 sets the flow entry indicated in the Flow_mod message of the OpenFlow protocol received from the device management server 101 in the flow table. Then, the transfer rule is applied to the notification packet from the sensor device 103 received by the Packet_out message. According to this transfer rule, the destination IP address of the notification packet from the sensor device 103 is converted from the device management server 101 address to the sensor data processing server 111 address. Then, in process 512, the notification packet is transferred to the sensor data processing server 111. In the process 513, the sensor data processing server 111 performs sensor data processing on the notification packet transferred to the sensor data processing server 111. By the processing of the sensor data processing server 111, sensor data transmitted from the sensor device 103 is used for various services.

  In process 514, the sensor device 103 detects a change in sensor value. In the monitoring state, the notification packet including the sensor data is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102 that made the monitoring request in processing 515. When receiving the notification packet from the sensor device 103, the IoT-GW 102 converts it into a frame format that can be transferred to the LAN network. After that, the transfer rule of the packet relayed from the sensor apparatus 103 to the device management server 101 is confirmed with reference to the flow table. Processing such as conversion of the destination IP address is performed on the packet in accordance with the transfer rule registered in the flow table in processing 516, and the notification packet is transferred in processing 517. The notification data from the sensor device 103 transferred by the IoT-GW 102 in the process 518 is subjected to sensor data processing in the sensor data processing server 111. In this manner, the sensor data processing server 111 can receive a notification (Notify) when the sensor data value emitted by the resource changes due to the control of the device management server 101.

  If the IoT-GW 102 performs data transfer using a flow entry within the idle timeout time, the idle timeout is updated, but if the idle timeout time elapses without performing data transfer, the flow in process 519 Detects that a specified time has elapsed since the entry was last applied. As a result, this flow entry is invalidated by not referring to the idle time-out time (when transfer control is performed by the expiration date of the flow entry, it is invalidated by the expiration of the flow entry expiration date). Since the flow entry has expired, the IoT-GW 102, which is an OpenFlow switch, notifies the device management server 101, which is an OpenFlow controller, that the transfer rule has been deleted in the processing 520. In processing 521, the device management server 101 detects that the transfer rule has been deleted, and performs processing for setting the transfer rule again. Next, in step 522, a monitoring request is transmitted to the sensor device 103. In processing 523, the IoT-GW 102 converts the monitoring request packet received from the device management server 101 into a frame of a sensor network that can be received by the sensor device 103, and in processing 524 transfers it to the sensor device 103. Next, in step 525, the sensor device 103 sends back a notification packet as a notification for the received monitoring request. In this reply packet, a packet including Max-age, which is time information indicating the freshness of the resource, is transmitted. In the process 526, the IoT-GW 102 converts the packet received from the sensor device 103 into a frame format that can be transferred to the LAN. Thereafter, since there is no flow entry to be applied to the converted frame in the flow table, in process 527 a transfer rule is inquired.

  Next, in a process 528, the device management server 101 acquires Max-age when it can be acquired from the notification packet from the sensor device 103 included in the received inquiry message.

  Then, using the acquired value, a flow entry serving as a rule for transferring the packet from the sensor device 103 to the sensor data processing server 111 is generated. Next, in process 529, the device management server 101 transmits the generated flow entry to the IoT-GW 102, and sets it as a transfer rule in the OpenFlow switch. The processing in the case where Max-age is not included is set by the method described later.

  Here, the process flow of the device management server 101 in the sequence from the series of processes 521 will be described using FIG.

  It is checked whether the notification of deletion of the flow entry set in step S801 has been received. The notification of deletion of the flow entry is based on the OpenFlwo protocol transmitted from the IoT-GW 102 to the device management server 101 by detecting the expiration of the flow entry generated by the device management server 101 or the passage of the idle timeout time. It is a packet. If not received, it waits until it is received. If it is received, the process proceeds to step S802.

  In step S802, it is confirmed whether the notification packet has arrived from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101 immediately because the set flow entry is expired and deleted. If the notification packet has been received, the process proceeds to step S805. If the notification packet has not been received, the process proceeds to step S803. In step S803, the same packet as the monitoring request packet shown in step S601 in FIG. 6 is transmitted to the sensor apparatus 103 again. It waits until the notification packet as a response to the monitoring request packet transmitted in step S804 is received. As in FIG. 6, although not shown, control similar to the case of retransmission control and no response is performed separately.

  In step S805, it is confirmed whether the notification packet includes Max-age. If it is included, the process proceeds to step S806. If it is not included, the process proceeds to step S807.

  In step S806, the valid time information is determined to be the value of Max-age. The valid time information may be determined to a predetermined value determined based on Max-age.

  In step S 807, the valid time information is set to a predetermined value. That is, it is set to a predetermined value set in advance, for example, a parameter that can be set by the device management server 101, or a value held by default, or a value that can be set by external control.

  The processes shown in step S805, step S806, and step S807 are the same processes as step S603, step S604, and step S605 in FIG.

  Next, in step S808, transfer rule setting processing is performed, and the processing ends.

  If the notification packet arrives at the device management server 101 at the same timing as the flow entry is expired (Yes in S802), it is determined that the sensor device 103 has not lost the monitoring state, and the sensor from the device management server 101 It does not send the monitoring request to the device 103 again. This can prevent network traffic from increasing.

  Thereafter, in process 530, the notification packet from the sensor device 103 received at the time of the transfer rule inquiry is sent back to the IoT-GW 102. In processing 531, the IoT-GW 102 sets the flow entry received from the device management server 101 in the flow table. Then, the transfer rule is applied to the notification packet from the sensor device 103 sent back from the device management server 101. According to this transfer rule, the destination IP address of the notification packet from the sensor device 103 is converted from the device management server 101 address to the sensor data processing server 111 address. Then, in processing 532, the notification packet is transferred to the sensor data processing server 111. In the process 533, the sensor data processing server 111 performs sensor data processing on the notification packet transferred to the sensor data processing server 111.

  By the above-described processing, the control of the device management server 101 makes a monitoring request of the sensor device 103 to maintain the monitoring state, and data from the sensor device 103 can be transferred to the sensor data processing server 111. In this way, the management server includes the notification packet sent from the sensor device that made the monitoring request in the notification packet from the sensor device when forwarding setting is performed so that the relay device transfers the data processing server to the management server. Transfer control is performed based on time information.

  The device management server 101 performs transfer control based on the resource monitoring request and the OpenFlow, thereby performing transfer control of information such as sensor data transmitted from the sensor device 103 to the sensor data processing server 111. In this way, processing of data transmitted from the sensor under control of the device management server 101 is realized in the cloud or the like. Further, since the device management server 101 can receive the progress of the freshness from the sensor device, it is possible to re-request the monitoring request at an appropriate timing.

  Also, by controlling the transfer rule to expire at a predetermined timing, it is transferred to the device management server 101, and when the transfer rule is valid, traffic is reduced by transferring only to the data processing server. And efficient processing becomes possible.

  In the present embodiment, although the configuration and flow are described above, the resource of the sensor device may be managed by the device management server, and the freshness may be appropriately monitored by transferring a packet to the device management server at a predetermined timing. The data from the sensor device may be transferred to the sensor data processing server, and may be controlled using OpenFlow so as not to be transferred to the device management server except at a predetermined timing.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the IoT-GW 102 performs deletion of the transfer rule and notification according to the passage of the expiration date of the flow entry has been described, but the device management server 101 is made to have a timer. When the expiration of the time limit is detected, the device management server 101 may instruct the IoT-GW 102 to rewrite the data from the sensor device into a transfer rule for transferring the data to the device management server 101.

  Although the configuration according to the OCF has been described in the present embodiment, any configuration may be used as long as the device status monitoring using CoAP is performed, and the configuration does not have to be compliant with the OCF technology. Also, not only CoAP but also packets from devices monitored using such a protocol are transferred to a server that processes data under control of the management server and processed, and transfer control is performed by the management server. And any configuration that suppresses unnecessary traffic.

  Further, in the present embodiment, control is performed in such a manner that the transfer rule is expired using an idle timeout or a flow entry expiration date which is a parameter in the flow entry. However, when the time acquired from Max-age etc. has elapsed by timer processing of the device management server separately, control is performed so that packets from the sensor device are not transferred to the sensor data processing server by changing or deleting the transfer rule. May be used. The management process by the device management server may be realized by setting different transfer rules using the priorities in the flow entry.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the device management server 101 and the IoT-GW 102 are configured by different devices, but may be configured as functions within the same device. That is, in this case, the OpenFlow controller and the OpenFlow switch function are provided in the same device. The communication between the device management server and the IoT-GW according to the OpenFlow protocol is not necessarily the same type of packet, as long as similar processing can be realized with another type of packet of the OpenFlow protocol.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, when a device management server receives a notification packet from a sensor device that has made a monitoring request, a flow entry is generated and data is transferred by the sensor data processing server, and a predetermined time elapses. I showed how the entry becomes invalid. According to this method, the device management server can detect the timing of transmitting the monitoring request again, and the network traffic can be reduced while continuing the monitoring state.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that not all combinations of the features described in the following embodiments are essential to the present invention. Moreover, FIG.1, FIG.2, FIG.3, and FIG. 4 are common figures.

  A processing sequence for resource management processing compliant with OCF of the sensor apparatus 103 and transfer control using OpenFlow performed by the device management server 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the process 901, the device management server 101 determines the sensor device 103 to be monitored, and generates a flow entry for performing transfer setting on the IoT-GW 102. The flow entry copies the packet from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101, converts the destination of the copied packet to be transmitted to the sensor data processing server 111, transfers it, and transfers the other to the device management server 101 as it is. It is a rule to Of course, it is also possible to send the copied one to the device management server 101 and send the received packet to the sensor data processing server 111. In the process 902, the flow entry generated in the process 901 is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102. This is done with the OpenFlow protocol compliant packet.

  Next, in process 903, the device management server 101 transmits a monitoring request packet to the sensor device 103 to be monitored. As a result, a monitoring request (Observe) is issued to the resource using CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol).

  Next, in processing 904, the IoT-GW 102 converts the monitoring request packet received from the device management server 101 into a frame of a sensor network that can be received by the sensor device 103, and transfers it to the sensor device 103 in processing 905. The sensor device 103 shifts the resource possessed by the sensor device 103 to the monitoring state (Observed) of the device management server 101 based on the received monitoring request. Then, in step 906, a notification packet is sent back to notify that the monitoring request has been received. In this reply packet, a packet including Max-age, which is time information indicating the freshness of the resource, is transmitted. The IoT-GW 102 applies the flow entry registered in the flow table after converting the packet received from the sensor device 103 in the process 907 into a format transferable to the LAN network.

  In accordance with the registered flow entry, the notification packet is copied and transferred to the device management server 101 as it is in processing 908. Further, the IP address etc. is converted so that the destination of the copied notification packet in the processing 910 becomes the sensor data processing server 111 and transferred to the sensor data processing server 111.

  In the process 909, the device management server 101 acquires the value of Max-age from the received notification packet from the sensor device 103 if it is included. The timer for the acquired Max-age time is started. In addition, when Max-age is not included in the notification packet, the timer is started using the separately determined predetermined value as described above. A flow entry for transferring a packet from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101 to the sensor data processing server 111 is generated. The flow entry generated in processing 912 is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102 to change the transfer rule. As a result, the packet from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101 is copied and the rule transferred to the sensor data processing server 111 and the device management server 101 is abolished, and the sensor data processing server 111 receives the packet from the sensor device 103. Rewrite and apply rules to forward only.

  The sensor data processing server 111 performs sensor data processing on the notification packet transferred to the sensor data processing server 111 in process 911. By the processing of the sensor data processing server 111, sensor data transmitted from the sensor device 103 is used for various services.

  In the process 913, when the sensor device 103 detects a change in the sensor value, since it is in the monitoring state, in the process 914, the notification packet including the sensor data is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102. When the IoT-GW 102 receives the notification packet from the sensor device 103, it converts it into a frame that can be transferred to the LAN network. Processing such as conversion of the destination IP address is applied to the packet in accordance with the transfer rule registered in the flow table in processing 915, and the notification packet is transferred to the sensor data processing server 111 in processing 916. The notification data from the sensor device 103 transferred by the IoT-GW 102 in the process 917 is subjected to sensor data processing in the sensor data processing server 111. In this manner, the sensor data processing server 111 can receive a notification (Notify) when the sensor data value emitted by the resource changes due to the control of the device management server 101.

  When the timer time has elapsed, in step 918, the device management server 101 generates a flow entry for changing the transfer rule of the flow entry registered in the flow table. The flow entry copies the packet from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101, converts the destination of the copied packet to be transmitted to the sensor data processing server 111, transfers it, and transfers the other to the device management server 101 as it is. It is a rule to In process 919, the flow entry generated in process 918 is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102.

  Then, in processing 920, a monitoring request is transmitted to the sensor device 103. When the device management server 101 receives the notification packet from the sensor apparatus 103 immediately after transmitting the transfer rule in processing 920, the monitoring request in processing 920 may not be transmitted.

  In processing 921, the IoT-GW 102 converts the monitoring request packet received from the device management server 101 into a frame of a sensor network that can be received by the sensor device 103, and transfers the frame to a sensor device 103 in processing 922.

  The sensor device 103 shifts the resource possessed by the sensor device 103 to the monitoring state (Observed) of the device management server 101 based on the received monitoring request. If already in the monitoring state, the monitoring state is continued. Then, in step 923, a notification packet is sent back to notify that the monitoring request has been received. In this reply packet, a packet including Max-age, which is time information indicating the freshness of the resource, is transmitted. The IoT-GW 102 converts the packet received from the sensor device 103 in the process 924 into a frame that can be transferred to the LAN, and then applies the flow entry registered in the flow table.

  In accordance with the registered flow entry, the notification packet is copied and transferred as it is to the device management server 101 in processing 925. Further, the IP address etc. is converted so that the destination of the copied notification packet in the process 924 becomes the sensor data processing server 111, and is transferred to the sensor data processing server 111 in the process 927.

  In the process 926, when the device management server 101 includes Max-age from the received notification packet from the sensor device 103, the device management server 101 acquires the value. The timer for the acquired Max-age time is started. If Max-age is not included, the same processing as described above is performed. In process 926, the device management server 101 generates a flow entry for transferring a packet from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101 only to the sensor data processing server 111. The flow entry generated in the process 929 is transmitted to the IoT-GW 102 to change the transfer rule. Thereby, the rule applied to the packet from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101 is changed. The content of the rule is a rule for transferring the packet from the sensor device 103 only to the sensor data processing server 111 based on the rule in which the received packet is copied and transferred to the sensor data processing server 111 and the device management server 101.

  In the process 928, the sensor data processing server 111 performs sensor data processing on the notification packet transferred to the sensor data processing server 111. By the processing of the sensor data processing server 111, sensor data transmitted from the sensor device 103 is used for various services.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the resources of the sensor device 103 are monitored by the control of the device management server 101 which is the OpenFlow controller, and the transfer rules of the IoT-GW 102 which is the OpenFlow switch are controlled. Further, when maintaining the monitoring state, flow entry control is performed so that the packet from the sensor device 103 is transferred not only to the sensor data processing server 111 but also to the device management server 101. This makes it possible to transfer sensor data to the sensor data processing server 111 for processing while preventing the packet from the sensor device 103 from being constantly transferred to the device management server 101. Further, processing of data transmitted from the sensor under control of the device management server 101 is realized in the cloud or the like. Furthermore, since the device management server 101 can receive the progress of the freshness from the sensor device, it is possible to re-request the monitoring request at an appropriate timing.

  Further, by controlling the transfer rule so that only predetermined timing is also transferred to the device management server 101, it is possible to reduce the traffic processed by the device management server 101 while transferring data to the data processing server, which is efficient. Processing is possible.

  In the present embodiment, before the Max-age elapses, the device management server 101 performs change setting of the transfer rule on the IoT-GW 102 (919), and transmits data from the sensor device 103 to the device management server 101. Although transfer to both sides of the sensor data processing server 111 is performed, the device management server 101 can prevent the IoT-GW 102 from changing and setting transfer rules. That is, when the device management server 101 first sets a transfer rule in the IoT-GW 102, the first transfer rule for transferring data from the sensor device 103 to both the device management server 101 and the sensor data processing server 111 is set. . In that state, when data is received from the sensor device 103, the device management server 101 acquires Max-age from the data, the IoT-GW 102 rewrites the first transfer rule, and subsequently receives data received by the sensor data processing server. Transfer to 111 only. Before Max-age elapses, the device management server 101 rewrites the IoT-GW 102 to the first transfer rule for transferring data from the sensor apparatus 103 to both the device management server 101 and the sensor data processing server 111. Let's do it.

  According to this method, the communication in which the device management server 101 resets the transfer rule to the IoT-GW 102 can be omitted when the Max-age elapses, and the communication load can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, when the device management server 101 receives a notification packet from the sensor device 103, the transfer rule of the flow entry set in the IoT-GW 102 is changed. Then, the notification packet is transferred to the device management server 101 again by activating the timer, and processing for transferring sensor data to the sensor data processing server 111 while maintaining the monitoring state of the sensor device is shown. The In this embodiment, transfer control is performed by this method, but it is not a method of changing a set flow entry using the priority of flow entry, but adding a new flow entry and controlling the priority by adding a new flow entry. It may be a method in which the transfer rule applied accordingly is switched. At this time, it is also possible to control so that the rule is revoked by the passage of time by setting an idle timeout or an expiration time to a high priority flow entry. By doing so, timer control in the device management server becomes unnecessary, and control of flow entry becomes possible with the function possessed by the OpenFlow switch.

100 information processing system 101 device management server 102 IoT-GW
103-106 Sensor Device 107 LAN
108 WSN
109 Sensor data processing server 110 WAN
111 Sensor data processing server 201 System bus 202 CPU
203 RAM
204 ROM
205 Transfer control management unit 206 Device resource management unit 207 LAN control unit 301 MCU
302 PAN control unit 303 sensor unit 401 system bus 402 CPU
403 RAM
404 ROM
405 transfer control unit 406 transfer processing unit 407 LAN control unit 408 PAN control unit

Claims (19)

A management device,
Transmitting means for transmitting a request to notify the management apparatus when a predetermined change has occurred in the value of the resource to the relay apparatus to which the resource is connected;
Acquisition means for acquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the request;
Based on the expiration date of the data of the resource, the expiration date of the transfer rule consisting of a pair of the data transfer condition and the transfer process executed when the transfer condition is satisfied is set, and the transfer rule is set in the relay device. Setting means,
Detection means for detecting the expiration of the transfer rule;
Retransmission means for retransmitting the request to the relay apparatus when the detection means detects the expiration of the transfer rule;
Reacquisition means for reacquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the retransmitted request;
A management apparatus, comprising: reset means for setting an expiration date of the transfer rule based on an expiration date of the data of the reacquired resource, and resetting the transfer rule in the relay device.   The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the expiration of the transfer rule by receiving a notification from the relay device that the transfer rule has been deleted. The management device has a timer,
The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the expiration of the transfer rule by detecting that the timer has passed the expiration date of the transfer rule.   The management according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the setting unit and the resetting unit sets an expiration date of data of the resource in an expiration date of the transfer rule. apparatus.   At least one of the setting means and the resetting means sets the expiration date of the transfer rule to a predetermined time when the notification from the resource does not include the expiration date of the data of the resource. The management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A management device,
Transmitting means for transmitting a request to notify the management apparatus when a predetermined change has occurred in the value of the resource to the relay apparatus to which the resource is connected;
Acquisition means for acquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the request;
Based on the expiration date of the data of the resource, an idle timeout period is set which expires when a transfer rule consisting of a pair of transfer conditions for data and transfer processing executed when the transfer condition is satisfied is not referred to for a predetermined time Setting means for setting the transfer rule in the relay device;
Detection means for detecting the expiration of the transfer rule;
Retransmission means for retransmitting the request to the relay apparatus when the detection means detects the expiration of the transfer rule;
Reacquisition means for reacquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the retransmitted request;
A management apparatus comprising: reset means for setting the idle timeout time based on the re-acquired resource data expiration date and resetting the transfer rule in the relay device.   The management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the detection unit detects the expiration of the transfer rule by receiving a notification from the relay device that the transfer rule has been deleted.   8. The management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the setting unit sets the idle timeout time to a time shorter than an expiration date of data of the resource. A management device,
Transmitting means for transmitting a request to notify the management apparatus when a predetermined change has occurred in the value of the resource to the relay apparatus to which the resource is connected;
A first setting unit configured to generate a first transfer rule for transferring the data to the information processing apparatus and the management apparatus when the data received from the resource satisfies a predetermined transfer condition, and to set in the relay apparatus; ,
An acquisition unit that acquires an expiration date of data of the resource from data of the resource when data is received from the resource after setting the first transfer rule;
The first transfer rule is changed to a second transfer rule that transfers data from a resource that satisfies the transfer condition only to the information processing apparatus, and based on the expiration date of the data of the resource acquired by the acquisition unit Second setting means for setting an expiration date of the second transfer rule, and setting the second transfer rule in the relay device;
Detection means for detecting the expiration of the expiration date of the second transfer rule;
And resetting means for changing the second transfer rule to the first transfer rule and resetting the relay device when the detection means detects that the second transfer rule has expired. The management apparatus characterized by having. A management device,
Transmitting means for transmitting a request to notify the management apparatus when a predetermined change has occurred in the value of the resource to the relay apparatus to which the resource is connected;
When the data received from the resource satisfies a predetermined transfer condition, a first transfer rule for transferring the data to the information processing apparatus and the management device, and the transfer from the resource after setting the first transfer rule The relay device is configured to rewrite the first transfer rule in a second transfer rule in which data from the resource is transferred only to the information processing device in the relay device when data satisfying the condition is received. The first setting means to set,
An acquisition unit that acquires an expiration date of data of the resource from data of the resource when data is received from the resource after setting the first transfer rule;
A second setting unit configured to set an expiration date of the second transfer rule based on the data expiration date of the resource acquired by the acquisition unit;
Detection means for detecting the expiration of the expiration date of the second transfer rule;
When the detection means detects that the second transfer rule has expired, the first transfer rule and the first transfer rule are rewritten to the second transfer rule. And a resetting unit configured to set.   The management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the management apparatus is a client apparatus compliant with a CoAP communication protocol.   The management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the request is an Observe request in a CoAP communication protocol.   The management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein an expiration date of data of the communication device is Max-age in a CoAP communication protocol.   14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the resetting unit resets the transfer rule in the relay apparatus based on the priority to which the transfer rule is applied, when the transfer rule is expired. Management device according to any one of the items. A method of managing a data transfer device, comprising
A transmitting step of transmitting a request to notify when there is a predetermined change in the value of the resource;
An acquiring step of acquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the request;
Setting the expiration date of a transfer rule consisting of a pair of data transfer conditions and transfer processing to be executed when the data transfer condition is satisfied, based on the expiration date of the data of the resource, and setting the transfer rule;
A detection step of detecting the expiration of the transfer rule;
A retransmission step of retransmitting the request if it detects that the transfer rule has expired;
A reacquisition step of reacquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the retransmitted request;
And c. Setting the expiration date of the transfer rule based on the expiration date of the data of the reacquired resource, and resetting the transfer rule. A method of managing a data transfer device, comprising
A transmitting step of transmitting a request to notify when there is a predetermined change in the value of the resource;
An acquiring step of acquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the request;
Based on the expiration date of the data of the resource, an idle timeout period is set which expires when a transfer rule consisting of a pair of transfer conditions for data and transfer processing executed when the transfer condition is satisfied is not referred to for a predetermined time Setting the transfer rule;
A detection step of detecting the expiration of the transfer rule;
A retransmission step of retransmitting the request if it detects that the transfer rule has expired;
A reacquisition step of reacquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from a notification from the resource as a response to the retransmitted request;
And d) setting the idle time-out period based on the re-acquired resource data expiration date, and resetting the transfer rule. A method of managing a data transfer device, comprising
A transmitting step of transmitting a request to notify when there is a predetermined change in the value of the resource;
A first setting step of setting a first transfer rule for transferring the data to the first device and the second device when the data received from the resource satisfies a predetermined transfer condition;
An acquisition step of acquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from data of the resource when receiving data from the resource after setting the first transfer rule;
Changing the first transfer rule to a second transfer rule that transfers data from a resource satisfying the transfer condition only to the first device, and based on the expiration date of the data of the resource, the second transfer rule A second setting step of setting an expiration date of the second transfer rule and setting the second transfer rule;
A detection step of detecting an expiration of an expiration date of the second transfer rule;
And a reset step of changing and resetting the second transfer rule to the first transfer rule when detecting the expiration of the expiration date of the second transfer rule. Management method of data transfer device. A method of managing a data transfer device, comprising
A transmitting step of transmitting a request to notify when there is a predetermined change in the value of the resource;
When the data received from the resource satisfies a predetermined transfer condition, a first transfer rule for transferring the data to the first device and the second device, and the setting of the first transfer rule from the resource When the data that satisfies the transfer condition is received, the data transfer device transfers the first transfer rule to a second transfer rule that transfers data from the resource only to the first device. The first setting process to set,
An acquisition step of acquiring an expiration date of data of the resource from data of the resource when receiving data from the resource after setting the first transfer rule;
A second setting step of setting an expiration date of the second transfer rule based on a data expiration date of the resource;
A detection step of detecting an expiration of an expiration date of the second transfer rule;
A resetting step of resetting the first transfer rule and the setting for rewriting the first transfer rule to the second transfer rule when detecting the expiration of the expiration date of the second transfer rule; A management method of a data transfer apparatus characterized by comprising.   The program for operating a computer as a management apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-14.

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