JP2019164493A - Information processing apparatus, method, program, and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

To notify the occurrence of server switching.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus comprises: a receiving unit that receives operating state information indicating an operating state of a device management apparatus managing a device; a server construction unit that references a setting information storage unit in which setting information of the device management apparatus is stored, and generates a virtualized copy of the device management apparatus when the operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure in the device management apparatus; and a notification unit that notifies the device of information relating to the generation of the copy.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, method, program, and information processing system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a service is provided from a server provided on a network such as the Internet to a client, when a failure occurs, a system that newly starts another server is known instead.

  In the conventional system described above, a service cannot be provided until a new server is started and server switching is completed. Further, in the conventional system, since the server is being switched, the client side is not notified that the service is temporarily not provided. For this reason, in the above-described conventional system, the user receiving the service cannot grasp that the service is temporarily not provided by switching the server.

  An object of the disclosed technique is to notify the occurrence of server switching.

  The disclosed technology includes a receiving unit that receives operating state information indicating an operating state of a device managing apparatus that manages devices, and the device managing apparatus when the operating state information indicates occurrence of a failure in the device managing apparatus. The setting information storage unit in which the setting information is stored is referred to, a server construction unit that generates a copy of the virtualized device management apparatus, and information related to the generation of the copy is notified to the device And an information processing apparatus.

  It is possible to notify the occurrence of server switching.

It is a figure which shows an example of a failure management system structure. It is an outline of the operation of the management server. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a management server. It is a figure explaining the function of a management server. It is a figure which shows an example of customer information. It is a figure which shows an example of server information. It is a figure which shows an example of apparatus information. It is a figure which shows an example of setting information. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of a management server. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of notification. It is a flowchart explaining the process which accumulate | stores log information. It is a flowchart explaining the process which estimates generation | occurrence | production of a failure.

  Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a failure management system configuration.

  The failure management system 100 according to the present embodiment is a system that is virtually constructed on a network such as a cloud environment, and includes, for example, a device management server 200, a state monitoring server 300, and a management server 400.

  For example, the device management server 200 manages various devices connected to the network N1. The network N1 is, for example, a network managed by company A, and the device management server 200 may be a server owned by company A.

  The devices connected to the network N1 include various devices such as a general information processing device, an image forming device, an image projection device, and an electronic blackboard.

  The state monitoring server 300 monitors the state of the device management server 200. Specifically, the state monitoring server 300 monitors the state of the device management server 200 and notifies the management server 400 of the occurrence of a failure when a failure occurs in the device management server 200.

  The management server 400 according to the present embodiment generates a copy of the device management server 200 when receiving a notification of the failure of the device management server 200. In addition, the management server 400 of this embodiment notifies each device connected to the network N that the device management server 200 is being switched to another device management server.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of the management server. In the failure management system 100 of the present embodiment, the device management server 200 is connected to the network N1 and holds setting information indicating the settings of each device managed by the device management server 200.

  In the present embodiment, the management server 400 acquires this setting information from the device management server 200. When the status monitoring server 300 detects the occurrence of a failure in the device management server 200, the management server 400 refers to the setting information of the device management server 200 and has the same function as the device management server 200. The management server 500 is constructed.

  In other words, when a failure occurs in the device management server 200, the management server 400 constructs a backup server (alternative server) of the device management server 200 from the setting information of the device management server 200 held by itself.

  Then, the management server 400 transmits a notification indicating that the service is not temporarily provided to each device connected to the network N1 because the server is being switched.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the occurrence of server switching can be notified. In this embodiment, since a backup server having the same function as that of the server in which the failure has occurred after the failure has occurred, there is no need to prepare a backup server that is always operating on the network. Therefore, the user of the network N1 can reduce the cost for providing a backup server on the network.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the management server 400 holds the setting information that the device management server 200 has, and thus has the same function as the device management server 200 immediately when a failure occurs in the device management server 200. A copy of the device management server 200 can be constructed.

  The construction of a copy of the device management server 200 of the present embodiment means that a device management apparatus (alternative server) virtualized using a virtualization technology is copied and built on the network. It is not necessary to prepare a new physically different server. In this way, constructing a virtualized server on the network may be called provisioning.

  Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the management server 400 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the management server.

  The management server 400 according to the present embodiment includes an information processing apparatus including a drive device 401, an auxiliary storage device 402, a memory device 403, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 404, an interface device 405, and the like that are connected to each other via a bus B. It is.

  A program that realizes processing in the management server 400 is provided by a recording medium 406 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 406 storing the program is set in the drive device 401, the program is installed from the recording medium 406 to the auxiliary storage device 402 via the drive device 401. However, the program need not be installed from the recording medium 406 and may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 402 stores the installed program and stores necessary files, data, and the like.

  The memory device 403 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 402 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 404 executes a function related to the management server 400 according to a program stored in the memory device 403. The interface device 405 is used as an interface for connecting to a network.

  Note that the management server 400 may be realized as a system using a plurality of computers each having the configuration shown in FIG. In addition, the device management server 200 and the state monitoring server 300 may have the same hardware configuration as the management server 400.

  Next, the function of the management server 400 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functions of the management server.

  The management server 400 of this embodiment includes an input unit 410, a customer information management unit 411, a server management unit 412, a setting information acquisition unit 413, a monitoring status reception unit 414, a server construction unit 415, a notification unit 416, an output unit 417, and a failure. A prediction detection unit 418 is included. Each of these units is realized by the CPU 404 of the management server 400 reading out and executing a program from the auxiliary storage device 402.

  Further, the management server 400 of this embodiment includes a customer information storage unit 420, a server information storage unit 430, a device information storage unit 440, a setting information storage unit 450, and a log information storage unit 460. Each of these storage units is provided in the auxiliary storage device 402, the memory device 403, and the like of the management server 400.

  The input unit 410 receives various information input to the management server 400. The customer information management unit 411 manages customer information stored in the customer information storage unit 420. Specifically, for example, the customer information management unit 411 stores the customer information received by the input unit 410 in the customer information storage unit 420.

  The setting information acquisition unit 413 periodically acquires setting information from the device management server 200 and stores it in the setting information storage unit 450. The setting information is, for example, information held by the device management server 200 for managing each device on the network N1, and is information indicating settings related to each device on the network N1.

  The monitoring status receiving unit 414 receives information indicating the status of the device management server 200 monitored by the status monitoring server 300 from the status monitoring server 300. In the following description, information received by the monitoring status receiving unit 414 from the status monitoring server 300 is referred to as operating status information indicating the operating status of the device management server 200.

  The server construction unit 415 refers to the setting information of the device management server 200 in which a failure has occurred, stored in the setting information storage unit 450, and replaces the device management server 200 having the same function as the device management server 200. An alternative server 500 is constructed. In other words, the server construction unit 415 generates a functional unit having the same function as that of the device management server 200 in which a failure has occurred on the network as the alternative server 500.

  The notification unit 416 notifies the device managed by the device management server 200 that the device management server 200 is switching the device management to the management by the alternative server 500.

  The output unit 417 outputs various types of information. Specifically, the output unit 417 may transmit various types of information to an external device, or may display various types of information on a display or the like connected to the management server 400.

  The failure prediction detection unit 418 stores log information regarding the occurrence of the failure in the log information storage unit 460. Also, the failure prediction detection unit 418 refers to the log information stored in the log information storage unit 460 and predicts the occurrence of a failure. Details of the processing of the failure prediction detection unit 418 will be described later.

  The customer information storage unit 420 of the present embodiment stores customer information related to customers (users) who are using the device management server 200 and the network N1 connected to the device management server 200.

  The server information storage unit 430 stores server information related to the device management server 200, and the device information storage unit 440 stores device information related to devices managed by the device management server 200. The device managed by the device management server 200 is a device connected to the network N1. The setting information storage unit 450 stores setting information set in the device management server 200. The log information storage unit 460 is log information related to the occurrence of a failure.

  Next, customer information, device information, server information, and setting information will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of customer information. The customer information of this embodiment has a customer name, a server type, and a device as information items, and the item “customer name” is associated with other items. Information including the value of the item “customer name” and the values of other items is referred to as customer information. The customer information may include items other than the items shown in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 5, it can be seen that Company A has a device management server 200 and the device name of the device management server 200 is server XX.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of server information. The server information of this embodiment has server names, memory capacities, HDD capacities, and application names as information items, and the item “server name” is associated with other items. Information including the value of the item “server name” and the values of other items is referred to as server information.

  The value of the item “memory capacity” indicates the memory capacity of the device management server 200 indicated by the server name. The value of the item “HDD capacity” indicates the hardware capacity of the device management server 200 indicated by the server name. The value of the item “application name” indicates the name of the application installed in the device management server 200 indicated by the server name.

  The server information may include items other than the items shown in FIG. The server information of the present embodiment mainly includes information related to the hardware specifications of the device management server 200 specified by the item “server name”.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information. The device information of this embodiment has a customer name, a device name, an IP address, and a connection destination server as information items, and the item “device name” and other items are associated with each other. In the present embodiment, information including the value of the item “device name” and the values of other items is referred to as device information. The device information may include items other than the items shown in FIG.

  The value of the item “device name” indicates the name of the device. The value of the item “IP address” indicates the IP address of the device indicated by the device name. The value of the item “connection destination server” indicates a server to which the device indicated by the device name is connected.

  In the example of FIG. 7, it can be seen that printer A and printer B, which are assets of company A, are connected to server OO.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting information. FIG. 8A shows an example of setting information related to connection settings set in the device management server 200 among the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 450. FIG. 8B shows an example of setting information related to the print server set in the device management server 200 among the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 450.

  The setting information 81 illustrated in FIG. 8A indicates settings related to connection between the device management server 200 and various servers in the network N1.

  The various servers in the network N1 are, for example, a print server for managing printing by a plurality of image forming apparatuses in the network N1, and an image data read by a scan function of the image forming apparatus. Scan server or the like.

  The setting information 82 illustrated in FIG. 8B indicates settings related to the print server managed by the device management server 200.

  As described above, the setting information storage unit 450 of this embodiment stores various setting information that the device management server 200 has in order to manage various devices of the network N1.

  The setting information 81 and 82 is a part of the setting information acquired from the device management server 200. For example, when there are a plurality of device management servers 200 in the failure management system 100, the setting information storage unit 450 of the present embodiment acquires the settings acquired from each device management server 200 for each device management server 200. Information may be stored.

  Next, the operation of the management server 400 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the management server.

  The management server 400 receives the operating status information of the device management server 200 from the status monitoring server 300 by the monitoring status receiving unit 414 (step S901). Subsequently, the monitoring status reception unit 414 determines whether or not a failure has occurred in the device management server 200 from the operating state information (step S902).

  If no failure has occurred in step S902, the management server 400 returns to step S901.

  In step S902, when the operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure, the management server 400 determines whether or not the server construction unit 415 is a failure that is expected to be recovered without constructing an alternative server (step S902). S903). In the present embodiment, the type of failure for which an alternative server should be constructed may be set in the server construction unit 415 in advance.

  In step S903, if the failure is recoverable, the management server 400 refers to the device information storage unit 440, and the notification unit 416 recovers the failure that can be recovered for the device to which the device management server 200 is connected. (Step S904), and the process ends.

  If it is determined in step S903 that the failure is to build an alternative server, the management server 400 switches the server to the device connected to the device management server 200 by the notification unit 416 when a failure occurs. Is notified (step S905).

  Subsequently, the management server 400 uses the server construction unit 415 to construct an alternative server on the network (step S906). Then, the server construction unit 415 acquires the setting information of the device management server 200 in which the failure has occurred from the setting information storage unit 450 and passes it to the alternative server (step S907).

  Subsequently, the management server 400 notifies the device connected to the device management server 200 that the restoration has been completed by the notification unit 416 (step S908), and ends the process.

  Below, with reference to FIG. 10, the notification output to each apparatus by step S905 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a notification. A screen 101 in FIG. 10 is an example of a screen displayed on, for example, an operation panel of the image forming apparatus connected to the network N1.

  On the screen 101, a message 102 indicating that a failure has occurred in the system and a message 103 indicating that service provision is temporarily interrupted in order to switch the device management server 200 are displayed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to notify the occurrence of server switching by notifying the message 103 to each device having the device management server 200 as a connection destination.

  In FIG. 10, the notification is displayed on the screen, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the device to which the device management server 200 is connected is a general computer or the like, notification may be made by e-mail or the like.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, accumulation of log information by the failure prediction detection unit 418 and prediction of occurrence of failure will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for accumulating log information. The processing in step S1101 and step S1102 in FIG. 11 is the same as the processing in step S901 and step S902 in FIG.

  In step S1102, when the received operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure, the failure prediction detection unit 418 accumulates log information indicating the occurrence of the failure in the log information storage unit 460 (step S1103), and ends the process. .

  Note that the log information indicating the occurrence of a failure may include, for example, information indicating the date and time when the failure occurred, information indicating the type of failure, the name of the device management server 200 where the failure occurred, and the like.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process for predicting the occurrence of a failure. The failure prediction detection unit 418 according to the present embodiment refers to the log information stored in the log information storage unit 460 and predicts a cycle in which a failure occurs (step S1201).

  Subsequently, the failure prediction detection unit 418 determines whether or not a failure has occurred at a constant cycle (step S1202). In step S1202, when a certain period does not exist, the failure prediction detection unit 418 returns to step S1201.

  In step S1202, when a certain period exists, the failure prediction detection unit 418 predicts the next failure to occur based on the log information (step S1203).

  Subsequently, the failure prediction detection unit 418 notifies the user of the prediction result by the notification unit 416 (step S1204), and ends the process. The notification destination of the prediction result may be, for example, a terminal for an administrator of the device management server 200 in which the occurrence of a failure is predicted, or the device management server 200 in which the occurrence of a failure is predicted as a connection destination. It may be a device.

  As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated based on each embodiment, this invention is not limited to the requirements shown in the said embodiment. With respect to these points, the gist of the present invention can be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Failure management system 200 Device management server 300 Status monitoring server 400 Management server 410 Input part 411 Customer information management part 412 Server management part 413 Setting information acquisition part 414 Monitoring status reception part 415 Server construction part 416 Notification part 417 Output part 418 Failure prediction Detection unit 420 Customer information storage unit 430 Server information storage unit 440 Device information storage unit 450 Setting information storage unit 460 Log information storage unit 500 Alternative server

JP 2006-152461 A

Claims (8)

A receiving unit that receives operating state information indicating an operating state of the device management apparatus that manages the device;
When the operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure in the device management apparatus, a virtual copy of the device management apparatus is generated with reference to the setting information storage unit in which the setting information of the device management apparatus is stored A server construction department to
An information processing apparatus comprising: a notification unit that notifies the device of information relating to generation of the copy.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a setting information acquisition unit that periodically acquires setting information of the apparatus management apparatus from the apparatus management apparatus. A log information storage unit for accumulating log information indicating that the failure has occurred;
A failure prediction detection unit that refers to the log information, determines whether or not the failure occurs periodically, and predicts the occurrence of the next failure when the failure occurs periodically. Have
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the device management apparatus of a result of prediction by the failure prediction detection unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information includes information set for the device so that the device management apparatus manages the device.   5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit displays a screen including a message indicating that the copy is generated on a display unit of the device. A computer-based method, wherein the computer is
Receives operating status information indicating the operating status of the device management device that manages the device,
When the operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure in the device management apparatus, a virtual copy of the device management apparatus is generated with reference to the setting information storage unit in which the setting information of the device management apparatus is stored And
A method of notifying the device of information relating to generation of the copy. A process of receiving operating status information indicating the operating status of the device management apparatus that manages the device;
When the operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure in the device management apparatus, a virtual copy of the device management apparatus is generated with reference to the setting information storage unit in which the setting information of the device management apparatus is stored Processing to
The program which makes a computer perform the process which notifies the information which concerns on producing | generating the said replication to the said apparatus. A receiving unit that receives operating state information indicating an operating state of the device management apparatus that manages the device;
When the operating state information indicates the occurrence of a failure in the device management apparatus, a virtual copy of the device management apparatus is generated with reference to the setting information storage unit in which the setting information of the device management apparatus is stored A server construction department to
An information processing system comprising: a notification unit that notifies the device of information relating to generation of the copy.

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