JP2743940B2 - Network management system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a network management system, and more particularly to a device configuration between an agent and a network device and a method for transferring information of data to be managed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional network management system includes a manager as a management device, a network device as a managed device, and an agent between the manager and the network device as a management agent device for managing the network. Rapid collection of alarms in a transmission device is an important issue, and is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-204811.

Here, the network management device and the managed device in JP-A-5-204811 correspond to the agent and the network device as the above-mentioned management substitute device, respectively.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 5-204611 has a configuration having a connection-oriented communication interface and a connectionless communication interface as shown in FIG. 16, and an agent triggers a trigger such as data acquisition in a network device. Use a connection-oriented communication interface for the given communication,
By using a connectionless communication interface for communication that triggers the network device, such as alarm notification, it is possible to immediately communicate from the network device to the agent when an event occurs that requires urgency such as failure detection. .

[0005]

In network management, it is important to promptly notify a manager of a failure of a network device. Even in the conventional system, the design was made in consideration of this point, but for that purpose, the communication interface was separated, and the device became complicated.

[0006] Further, as described in the above-mentioned publication, the connectionless communication interface requires an acknowledgment because the reliability of communication is low.

An object of the present invention is to simplify an interface between an agent and a network device, and obtain detailed information of an alarm generated in the network device by using the same interface as an interface used to obtain the status of the network device. .

[0008] Further, the data to be managed, which is the data necessary for the management of the network, is preferably located on the network device side, better on the agent side, and both on the network device side and on the agent side, depending on its characteristics. Is better divided into those that are better.

Another object of the present invention is to manage the data to be managed according to the characteristics of the data to be managed by distributing and storing the data to be managed in a network device and an agent according to its characteristics. is there.

Notifying the manager of the failure of the network device is the most important function of the agent. However, when the load of the alarm on the agent increases, the agent detects the alarm from the network device and issues an alarm to the manager. Was late for the notification.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the load when an alarm occurs in an agent.

Further, the encoding rules used for data transfer between the manager and the agent have a disadvantage that the data transfer is inefficient because the encoding becomes redundant, and the encoded data is directly transferred from the agent to the agent. There is a drawback in that a large number of database procedures are required when registering in a database.

However, a standardized encoding rule is usually used as an encoding rule for communication between a manager and an agent.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of data transfer by defining a user-definable part of the standardized coding rule.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a network device comprising a device for monitoring a transmission state of a communication network while configuring a communication network, and a device for monitoring and managing the network device. In a network management system including an agent, and a manager that monitors and manages the network device and the agent as a whole, the network device detects an emergency failure in the network device and outputs an alarm signal. An alarm detection device, a transmission device status interface device that stores the data of the failure detected by the alarm detection device as alarm data, and an agent communication device for communicating with the agent, wherein the agent, Communicate with the network device Signal detecting device for detecting an alarm signal from the alarm detecting device in the network device and transmitting an alarm data extraction request signal for requesting extraction of alarm data of the network device. Device, receiving the alarm data extraction request signal from the alarm signal detection device, transmitting an alarm data acquisition command, and transmitting the transmission in the network device via the network device communication device and the agent communication device. A data access device for accessing the device state interface device and acquiring the alarm data stored in the transmission device state interface device, as a line connecting the agent communication device and the network device communication device, An alarm signal detection device from the alarm detection device; Having a interrupt signal line used when accessing and network management system characterized by having an information communication line to be used when the data access device to access to the transmission device status interface device is obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the network device has a transmission device state control monitoring device having a function of collecting data to be managed, which is data necessary for managing a communication network; The transmission device state interface device connected to the transmission device state control monitoring device and having a function of storing the management target data, and the agent is connected to the network device communication device, and the agent is periodically connected to the network device communication device. A polling device having a function of issuing a polling signal representing an instruction to acquire the management target data of the network device; a timer connected to the polling device, for periodically starting the polling device; and a communication device for the network device. Connected by the command from the manager and the alarm signal detecting device. A data access device having a function of managing the acquired managed data and the managed data acquired in response to the polling signal; and a function of storing the managed data connected to the data access device. And a management information storage device having a function of storing information on the storage location of the data to be managed.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the management target data includes first type management target data stored only in the transmission device state interface device in the network device; Type 2 management target data stored in both the management information storage device in the agent and the transmission device state interface device in the network device, and stored only in the management information storage device in the agent The data to be managed is divided into the third type of data to be managed,
In the case of species management target data, the data access device
Via the communication device for network devices, to the transmission device state interface device in the network device, read and write the data to be managed, if the data to be managed is data to be managed of the second type, The data access device reads the management target data from the management information storage device in the agent, and the transmission device status interface device in the network device via the network device communication device. Write the data to be managed to
When the management target data is the third type management target data, the data access device reads and writes the management target data with respect to the management information storage device in the agent. The data access device stores the second type management target data stored in the transmission device state interface device in the network device and stored in the management information storage device in the agent according to a polling signal. A network management system, wherein the network management system obtains the data from the transmission device status interface device in the network device and copies the information to the management information storage device in the agent.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the management target data includes the alarm data, and the alarm signal detection device includes:
Receiving an alarm signal from an alarm detection device and transmitting the alarm data extraction request signal to the data access device, the data access device preferentially acquires the alarm data; The system is obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the agent monitors a load of the agent, receives a load monitoring device that outputs a current load, and receives and receives an output of the load monitoring device. A network management system characterized by having a timer setting time changing device for changing the timer interval based on the output.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, when the load monitoring device detects an increase in the load in the agent, the timer setting time changing device increases the time interval of the timer, When the load monitoring device detects a decrease in load in the agent, the timer setting time changing device shortens the time interval of the timer to make the polling interval variable, thereby reducing the load in the agent. A characteristic network management system is obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the communication device for network devices determines a priority of a management target data acquisition command input from the polling device and the data access device. A priority determination device that assigns a label indicating the priority, an operation availability determination device that stores a management target data acquisition instruction determined to be the lowest priority in the priority determination device, and a determination made by the determination device. A plurality of priority-based instruction storage devices for storing, by priority, managed data acquisition commands excluding the managed data acquisition command determined to be the lowest priority among the managed data acquisition commands; and the operation availability determination device. And a pipe which is output to the agent communication device from a management target data acquisition instruction stored in the plurality of priority-based instruction storage devices. Network management system is obtained, characterized in that they are composed of the operation target selection unit for selecting a target data acquisition command.

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the operation target selection device stores a management target data acquisition instruction having the highest priority at present among the priority-specific instruction storage devices. Fetches the management target data acquisition command from the storage device, and accesses the agent communication device. The operability determination device receives the management target data acquisition command only when the network device is not performing communication. When the network device is communicating, a network management system is provided in which a non-acceptance notification is sent to the device that has input the management target data acquisition command.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a network management system in which in the network management system, the alarm data acquisition instruction of the network device is a management target data acquisition instruction having the highest priority. .

Further, according to the present invention, in the network management system, the manager and the agent both decode and encode data according to an encoding rule used for data transmission between the manager and the agent. Having a management protocol execution device having a function and a management protocol coding device, the coding rule defines a data type of a data length, collects the data length and the data type, and shortens the coded data. A network management system characterized by increasing the efficiency of data transfer is obtained.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the first invention. In FIG. 1, a manager 1 is connected to an agent 2, and the agent 2 is also connected to a network device 3.

The agent 2 includes a manager communication device 201, an alarm generation device 202, an in-agent alarm detection device 203, and an alarm signal detection device 20.
4, a management protocol execution device 205, a data access device 206, a management protocol encoding device 207, a management information storage device 208, a polling device 209, a timer 210, and a network device communication device 211. .

The network device 3 is composed of an agent communication device 301, an alarm detection device 302, a transmission device status interface device 303, a transmission device status control monitoring device 304, and a transmission device status interface device control device 305. Be composed.

Also, the communication device 301 for the network device
There are two lines between the agent communication device 211 and an interrupt signal line and an information communication line.

First, a device existing inside the agent 2 will be described.

The manager 1 encodes a request for access to the managed data to the agent 2 in accordance with the encoding rule between the manager 1 and the agent 2 and transmits the request. The manager communication device 201 in the agent 2 transmits the request. To receive.

The manager communication device 201 transmits and receives data to and from the manager 1 such as receiving a request from the manager 1 and transmitting a response such as a response from the agent 2 or an alarm to the manager 1 to the request. Communication device.

Here, the data to be managed is data necessary for network management, such as the current status and settings of the network device 3 and past performance data. Also, the access request for the management target data means reading of a value for the management target data and setting of the value.

In the network management system 4 of this embodiment, the data to be managed is stored in one or both of the management information storage device 208 in the agent 2 and the transmission device status interface device 303 in the network device 3. I have.

The management protocol execution device 205 receives a management operation request from the manager 1 via the manager communication device 201, interprets the request in accordance with the encoding rule between the manager 1 and the agent 2, and executes the management operation target. The data to be managed is specified and the data access device 206
Requests the management operation for the management target data.

Here, the management operation on the management target data is an operation of reading the value of the management target data or setting the value.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the management information storage device 208 according to the present invention. The management information storage device 208 includes a storage location information storage device 2081 and the management target data storage device 20.
82. Storage location information storage device 2081
Stores the operation location type of the management target data managed by the network management system and the storage location in the device where the management target data is stored.

Here, the management target data is the first type management target data stored only in the transmission device state interface device 303 in the network device 3, the management information storage device 208 in the agent 2, and the network device 3. The second type of data to be managed is stored in both of the transmission device state interface devices 303 in the network, and the third type of data to be stored only in the management information storage device 208 in the agent 2. Also, the operation is different depending on the respective management target data.

That is, when the data to be managed is the first type of data to be managed, both reading and writing are performed on the transmission device state interface device 303.
The first type management target data corresponds to data that changes at high speed in the network device 3.

When the managed data to be operated is the second type managed data, the data is read from the managed storage device 2081.
, But writing is performed on the transmission device state interface device 3.
03. The second type management target data mainly corresponds to data indicating the performance state of the network device 3 or the like. Also, the management target data storage device 2082
In the above, when storing the management target data existing in the network device 3, it is also possible to store the data in an expression format in the network device.

When the managed data to be operated is the third type of managed data, both reading and writing of the managed data are performed on the managed data storage device 2082 in the management information storage device 208. The third type of management target data mainly corresponds to management target data generated in the agent, an event sending filter (not shown), and the like. The event sending filter is
For example, it is a filter that determines what event is to be notified from the agent to the manager, such as increasing or decreasing the importance of the alarm.

When the management information storage device 208 is accessed from the data access device 206, the management information storage device 208 stores the storage device information storage device 2081 and the device storing the corresponding management target data. The storage locations in the device are extracted and output to the data access device 206.

According to the information on the device storing the data to be managed and the storage location in the device, the data access device stores the data to be managed in the data storage device 2082 in order to operate on the data to be managed. Access is made or the transmission device status interface device 303 is accessed via the network device communication device 211, the information signal line 52, and the agent communication device 301.

The management protocol coding device 207 receives the notification generated from the alarm generation device 202 and the result of the operation performed on the data to be managed by the data access device 206, and transmits them to the coding rule between the manager and the agent. , And sends it to the manager 1 via the manager communication device 201.

Next, devices existing in the network device 3 will be described.

The alarm detecting device 302 detects an emergency failure in the network device 3 and notifies the occurrence of the failure via the agent communication device 301, the interrupt signal line 51, and the network device communication device 211. , The alarm signal detection device 204, and the detailed information of the fault is stored in the transmission device status interface device 303 as alarm data.

The transmission device status interface device 303 is a storage device for storing management target data existing in the network device 3 and alarm data from the alarm detection device 302.

The transmission device state interface device control device 305
This is a device that controls the exchange performed between the device that operates on the information stored in the transmission device status interface device 303 and the transmission device status interface device 303.

The transmission device status control monitoring device 304 collects the data to be managed in the network device 3 and projects it on a predetermined location of the transmission device status interface device 303 according to the rules of the conversion table contained therein. This is a device having a function and a function of changing the value of the data to be managed in the network device 3 when the data in the transmission device status interface device 303 is rewritten by the agent.

The agent communication device 301 receives a communication from the agent 2 via the information communication line 52, transmits a response from the network device 3 to the communication, and outputs an alarm output from the alarm detection device 302. A communication device that transmits a signal to the network communication 211 via an interrupt signal line.

Next, the transmission device status interface device 303 in the network device 3 and the transmission device status interface device control device 30
5. The operation of the transmission device state control monitoring device 304 will be described.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the operation of the transmission device status interface device 303 and the transmission device status interface device control device 305 in the present invention. The transmission device state interface device 303
The transmission device status interface device control device 305 has a storage device for storing data to be managed in the device, and the transmission device status interface device control device 305 performs management operations on the data to be managed, the agent communication device 301 and the transmission device status control monitoring device 304. Each device has a different interface between them. These two interfaces operate independently in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation performed by the agent communication device 301 and the transmission device state interface device control device 305. If the operation is a read request, the transmission device state interface device controller 305 returns the requested address in the transmission device state interface device 303 (step 4).
003). If the operation is a write request, the transmission device status interface device control device 305 sends the transmission device status interface device 3
03, it is detected whether or not writing has been performed from the transmission device state control monitoring device 304 (step 400).
3) If a write operation is being performed, a write failure error is returned to the agent communication device 301;
The write operation is stopped (Step 4009). if,
If the transmission device state control monitoring device 304 is not performing a write operation, the transmission device state interface device control device 305 starts writing (step 4005). If a write request is issued from the transmission device state control monitoring device 304 during the write operation of the transmission device state interface device control device 305 (step 4006), the transmission device state interface device control device 305 Is invalidated, a write failure error is returned to the agent communication device 301, and the write operation is stopped (step 4010). When the writing is completed normally (step 4007), the transmission device status interface device control device 305 asynchronously notifies the transmission device status control monitoring device 304 of the address where the data was written and the value thereof (step 4008). That is, when the writing between the agent 2 and the network device 3 conflicts, the transmission device state interface device control device 305 gives priority to the writing from the network device 3.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the transmission device state control monitoring device 304.
11 is a diagram showing a method of accessing the transmission device status interface device 303 via the transmission device status interface device control device 305 of FIG. When there is a write request from the transmission device status control monitoring device 304 to the transmission device status interface device 303 (step 5).
002), the transmission device status interface device controller 305 locks the transmission device status interface device 303 (step 5003). After that, the transmission device state interface device control device 305 writes to the transmission device state interface device 303 (step 5004). When the writing to the transmission device status interface device 303 is completed, the transmission device status interface device control device 305 releases the write lock (step 5005), and ends the write operation (step 5006). Here, the write lock is a control unit that makes it impossible for a device other than the device that has issued the write request when the lock has been issued to be able to read but write.

FIG. 6 shows a transmission device state control monitoring device 304.
5 is a flowchart showing the operation of FIG. The transmission device state control monitoring device 304 acquires the value of the data to be managed in the network device 3 at regular time intervals (step 6001) (step 6002), and transfers the value to the transmission device in the transmission device state interface device control device 305. For the interface of the state control monitoring device 304, the transmission device state interface device 303 indicated by the conversion table in the transmission device state control monitoring device 304
(Step 600)
3). Here, the conversion table is a table indicating a correspondence relationship between a location where the management target data actually exists in the network device 3 and a storage location in the transmission device status interface device 303.

The transmission device status interface device control device 30
5 when a write interrupt occurs (step 60).
04), the address of the transmission device state interface device 303 sent at the time of the interruption is dereferenced using the conversion table, converted into the actual storage location of the management target data in the network device 3, and the value is stored in the storage location. It is set (step 6005).

Next, the network device communication device 211 for communicating between the agent 2 and the network device 3
A description will be given of the communication signal line 51 and the information communication line 52 connecting the communication device 301 and the agent communication device 301 with each other.

The network device communication device 211 is connected to the agent device 301 by the information communication line 52 and the interrupt signal line 51, is connected to the data access device 206 and the polling device 209 by the external information communication line, and detects an alarm signal. The device 204 is connected to an external interrupt signal line, and has a FIFO (First-In-First) inside.
(st-Out).

The agent communication device 301 is
The transmission device state is connected to the interface device control device 305 by an external information communication line, and is connected to the alarm detection device 302 by an external interrupt signal line.

The communication device 211 for the network device is connected to the data access device 206 or the polling device 20.
When the management operation request is received from the network device communication device 211, the request is stored in the storage device in the network device communication device 211.
If the management operation request stored in the storage device is not empty, the network device communication device 211 follows the information communication line 52, the agent communication device 301, and the transmission device status interface according to the oldest stored management operation request. Data is acquired from the transmission device state interface device 303 via the device control device 305. In addition, the network device communication device 2
Reference numeral 11 designates an interrupt to the alarm signal detection device 204 when the alarm detection device 301 receives an interrupt via the interrupt signal line 51 and the agent communication device 301.

Next, a method for copying the data to be managed stored in the network device 3 to the management information storage device 208 will be described.

The timer 210 has a set time storage device in which a polling interval is set and a counter. Timer 2
Reference numeral 10 first copies the value set in the set time storage device to the counter, and decrements the value of the counter at regular intervals. When the value of the counter becomes 0, the polling device 209 is interrupted, the value stored in the set time storage device is copied to the counter, and the decrement of the counter is started again.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the polling device 209. The polling device 209 has a timer 2
When an interrupt from 10 is received, the address of the transmission device state interface device 303 of the data to be polled or the address of the management information storage device 208 is obtained, and a polling signal is sent to the network device communication device 21 according to the address.
1 and read the next polling target data. If all the data to be polled has not been completed, a polling signal relating to the data is sent to the network device communication device 211.

Next, the operation of notifying the manager 1 of an alarm generated in the network device 3 or the management information storage device 208 will be described.

An operation example of the alarm detection device 302 and the alarm signal detection device 204 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The alarm detection device 302 performs an operation of acquiring the status of a notification target to the agent such as a failure in the network device 3 (step 8001), and detects whether there is any abnormality in the notification target. If an abnormality has occurred in the notification target (step 8002), alarm data, which is detailed information of the failure such as the name of the notification target, the importance of the alarm, and the cause of occurrence, is written to the transmission device state interface device 303 (step 8003). An alarm signal indicating that a failure has occurred in the alarm signal detection device 204 is asynchronously notified via the agent communication device 301, the interrupt signal line 51, and the network device communication device 211 using an interrupt (step 8004). ), And the operation returns to the alarm detection operation. Also, the alarm signal detection device 204 sends an alarm data extraction request signal requesting the data access device 206 to extract the alarm data in the transmission device state interface device 303. The data access device 306, which has received the alarm data extraction request signal, accesses the transmission device status interface device control device 305 via the network device communication device 211, the information communication line 52, and the agent communication device 301, and The alarm data stored in the interface device 303 is obtained (step 9002), and the alarm data is sent to the alarm generation device via the alarm signal detection device (step 9003).

As described above, by physically connecting the network device 3 and the agent 2 by two lines, the same interface can be used for both data necessary for normal management and alarm data.

Next, an example of the operation of the in-agent alarm detecting device 203 according to the present invention will be described. The in-agent alarm detection device 203 monitors the management target data of the alarm detection target stored in the management information storage device 208 at regular time intervals or when data is written to the management information storage device 208. The management target data and alarm generation conditions to be monitored are stored in the management information storage device 208.
Is stored in the storage location information storage device 208, and the in-agent alarm detection device 203 acquires management target data from the management information storage device 208 based on this information and detects whether the alarm generation condition is satisfied. .
When an alarm is detected, alarm data including a notification target name, notification content, and the like is sent to the alarm generation device 202.

An operation example of the alarm generation device 202 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. When alarm data is sent from the alarm signal detection device 204 or the in-agent alarm detection device 203 (step 1001), the alarm generation device 202 manages the management information storage device 208.
The alarm occurrence information is written in the
2) The information of the event sending filter is read from the management information storage device 208 (step 1003), and if the sending condition is met, a notification necessary for sending the alarm to the manager 1 is sent to the management protocol encoding device 207. The contents are sent (step 1004).

Next, the procedure by which the agent 2 accesses the management target data will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The data access device 206 acquires the storage location information of the data to be managed stored in the storage location information storage device 2081 inside the management information storage device 208 (step 2002). Based on this information, the data access device 206 determines which device to access.

When the data to be managed is the first type of data to be managed, the data access device 206 sends the data from the storage location information storage device 2081 to the transmission device status interface device 303.
The storage location where the management target data is stored is acquired (step 2011), and the network device communication device 211, the information communication line 52, the agent communication device 30
1 to access the transmission device status interface device 303 (step 2012).
3 is an agent communication device 301 and an information communication line 5
2. Return a response to the data access device 206 via the network device communication device 211 (step 200)
9).

If the data to be managed is the above-described type 2 data to be managed (step 2005) and if the management operation is to read the data to be managed (step 2005), the data access device 206
082, the corresponding data is read out (step 200).
6). When the management operation is to write the data to be managed, the data access device 206 obtains the storage position of the data to be managed in the transmission device status interface device 303 from the storage location information storage device 2081 (step 2007), and transmits the data. An access is made to the device state interface device 303 (step 2008).

When the data to be managed is the above-described third type of data to be managed (step 2003), the data access device 206 accesses the data to be managed storage device 2082 (step 2010).

In any of the above three access formats, the response is transferred to the management protocol coding device 207 (step 2014), and converted into a code word in the management protocol coding device according to the coding rule between the agent and the manager. Then, a response is returned to the manager 1 via the manager communication device 201 (step 2009).

As described above, by providing the storage location information of the management target data in the management information storage device 208, even if the management target data is distributed to a plurality of devices, the management information can be uniformly managed from the viewpoint of the manager. It is possible.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. Explaining the difference in comparison with FIG.
Agent 2 is newly added inside the agent in FIG.
A load monitoring device 213 for monitoring the load of the device and a timer setting time changing device 212 for changing the setting time of the timer are added. By using the system described in this embodiment, it is possible to dynamically change the data acquisition interval of the transmission device state interface device 303 according to the load of the agent 2. The operation will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The load monitoring device 213 monitors the load of the agent 2 and outputs the value. The timer setting time changing device 212 receives the output of the load monitoring device 213,
The timer setting time is changed stepwise according to the load as shown in FIG. 12, or according to the timer setting value conversion rule which continuously changes as shown in FIG. 13, the timer setting time is increased when the load becomes higher. When the load decreases, the set time of the timer is returned to the original set time. In the network management system 4 of this embodiment, the load of the agent 2 is high,
By increasing the polling interval when an operation requiring quickness is delayed, such as notifying the manager 1 of an alarm, the effect of reducing the load on the agent and reducing the delay is obtained.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. Here, the network device communication device 211 includes a priority determination device 1404, a priority storage device 1405, a non-priority storage device 1406, an operation availability determination device 1407, an operation target selection device 1408, an information communication line management device 1409, an interrupt signal line. 1401.

In the communication device 211 for the network device, the operation request command input to the external information communication line 1402 is provided with a label indicating the priority of the three-stage processing of high priority, medium priority, and low priority. To do that. By the priority determination device 1404, the operation request command to which the high priority label is assigned is stored in the priority storage device 1405, and the operation request command to which the priority label having the middle priority is assigned is stored in the non-priority storage device 1406. Is stored in The operation request command to which the low priority label is assigned is sent to the operation availability determination device 1407. In the operation availability determination device 1407,
The operation request command is stored only when the communication device 301 for the network device is not communicating with the communication device 211 for the agent. When communication is being performed, a management operation rejection notification is sent to the device that issued the operation request command. Send it. The operation target selection device 1408 reads the operation request command, and reads the information communication line management device 1409 and the information communication line 14.
An operation request command is issued to the agent communication device 301 via the communication terminal 10. Reading of the operation request command from the operation target selection device 1408 is performed as follows. First, it checks whether or not an operation request command exists in the priority storage device 1405, and if so, sends the operation request command to the agent communication device. If the operation request command is not stored in both the priority storage device and the non-priority storage device, and the operation request command is stored in the operation availability determination device 1408, the operation request command is transferred to the agent communication device 301. Send to

Next, the network device communication device 21
The method of detecting an alarm in a network device, accessing the transmission device status interface device 303 in accordance with an instruction from a manager, and controlling polling using the command No. 1 will be described.

The alarm signal detection device 204, which has received the alarm signal from the alarm detection device 302, sends a request to acquire the alarm data of the transmission device status interface device 303 to the data access device 206, and the requested data access device 206 Puts a high priority label on the alarm data acquisition command and
Send to The operation request command from the manager 1 is sent to the network device communication device 211 with a priority label attached. Also, the polling device 209
Sends the polling request data to the network device communication device 211 with a low priority label. When the request is rejected, the polling request data is sent to the network device communication device 211 again after a certain period of time. I do.

Thus, the transmission device state interface device 3
Even when access to the communication device 03 frequently occurs, the transmission device status interface device 303 can be processed with priority given to an alarm.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In a coding rule for handling a plurality of data types and variable data lengths, data type information,
It has data length and data value information.

However, in network management, many data often have the same data length. Therefore, in the present invention, type information indicating such a data length data type is newly defined, and for such a data length data type, data type information and data value are configured as code words. . This makes it possible to omit the portion representing the data length. It should be noted that the definition of the encoding method of the new data type needs to be mutually recognized between the transmitting side and the receiving side prior to data transmission.

[0087]

EXAMPLE As an example of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows an encoding rule based on a 1 / BER encoding rule. ASN. In 1 / BER, data is represented by a conventional tag field 1501 indicating the attribute of the data, a conventional length field 1502 indicating the number of octets of the value field, and a conventional value field 1503 encoding the data. Is done. Since each field is configured in units of one octet, even if the value field is one octet, three octets are required for encoding. Such a complex encoding method is called ASN. One reason that 1 / BER is adopted is that data length is not limited. However, the length of one data used in actual network management is mostly one to several octets. In this specific example, the ASN. In the 1 / BER tag field, a tag representing fixed-length data is defined as a private tag that allows the user to define the meaning of the tag independently, and the length field is omitted to fix the specific length. Reduce the code length of long data.

Here, a tag field 1504 according to the present invention indicating “1 octet integer” is defined. The private tag sets the first two bits of the tag field to "
11 ". Therefore, the first two bits are set to" 11. "Then, the next structural type flag bit is set to 0, and then a bit string indicating" 1 octet integer "is arranged in 5 bits. In this specific example, A
SN. In 1 / BER, a tag field 00010 representing "integer" is used. If the tag definition is recognized by both parties performing communication, what definition is used as long as it does not overlap with other encoding rules. No problem. If the data encodes an integer "20" of one octet, the data is converted to an ASN. 1 / BE
When encoded into R, tag field 1 in the present invention is
504 is a bit string 11000010, and the value field 1505 in the present invention is a normal ASN. With the 1 / BER encoding rule, it becomes 20, 000100100, which is 11000010 which is the sum of the tag field 1504 of the present invention and the value field 1505 of the present invention.
00010100 is the coded sequence. In this method, when the data to be transmitted and received are all 1-octet integers, the data amount is reduced to 2/3 as compared with the conventional method in which no compression is performed. In addition, other ASN. The type 1 can be similarly configured as long as it has a fixed length.

[0089]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In collecting alarms of a network device, the network device transmits an alarm signal indicating occurrence of an alarm to an agent using an interrupt signal line, and then the agent transmits alarm data, which is detailed information of the alarm corresponding to the alarm signal, to the network. By acquiring from the device, it is possible to acquire and set the alarm and the device status using the same interface.

Further, the storage location and the operation type of the management target data to be managed are stored in the management information storage device, and the management operation is performed based on the information. Can be configured to handle agents uniformly.

Further, even when the load on the agent increases, the polling interval is lengthened, and the communication between the agent and the network device delays alarm collection and alarm notification by introducing a communication device that prioritizes acquisition of alarm data. Executable without priority.

Also, the encoding rule used for data transfer between the manager and the agent defines the encoding rule for sending together the data length and the data type, and the encoding rule is used for frequently occurring data length data. By doing so, the necessary code length can be reduced, and further, when storing the management target data in the management information storage device in the form of the coding rule between the manager and the agent, the data amount can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart relating to management object data acquisition in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a management information storage device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the agent communication device and the transmission device state interface device control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing access to the transmission device state interface device via the transmission device state interface device control device of the transmission device state control monitoring device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transmission device state control monitoring device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the polling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the alarm detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the alarm signal detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the alarm generation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a timer setting value rule according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the timer setting value rule according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an agent-to-agent communication device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows an AS in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
N. It is a figure which shows encoding by the fixed-length tag of 1 / BER.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manager 2 Agent 201 Manager communication device 202 Alarm generation device 203 In-agent alarm detection device 204 Alarm signal detection device 205 Management protocol execution device 206 Data access device 207 Management protocol coding device 208 Management information storage device 2081 Storage location information storage device 2082 Managed object data storage device 209 Polling device 210 Timer 211 Network device communication device 212 Timer setting time change device 213 Load monitoring device 3 Network device 301 Agent communication device 302 Alarm detection device 303 Transmission device state interface device 304 Transmission device state control Monitoring device 305 Transmission device state interface device control device 4 Network management system 51 Interrupt signal line 52 Information communication line 1401 Interrupt signal line 1402 External information communication line 1404 Priority determination device 1405 Priority storage device 1406 Non-priority storage device 1407 Operation availability determination device 1408 Operation target selection device 1409 Information communication line management device 1410 Information communication line 1501 Conventional tag field 1502 Conventional Length field 1503 Conventional value field 1504 Tag field in the present invention 1505 Value field in the present invention

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A communication network, comprising:
A network device having a device for monitoring the transmission status of the communication network; an agent for monitoring and managing the network device; and a manager for monitoring and managing the network device and the agent as a whole. In the network management system, the network device stores an alarm detection device that detects an emergency failure in the network device and outputs an alarm signal, and stores the failure data detected by the alarm detection device as alarm data. A transmission device status interface device, and an agent communication device for communicating with the agent; and the agent, a communication device for network device for communicating with the network device, and the communication device in the network device. Alarm detection An alarm signal detection device for detecting an alarm signal from the device and transmitting an alarm data extraction request signal for requesting extraction of alarm data from the network device; and receiving the alarm data extraction request signal from the alarm signal detection device. Sending an alarm data acquisition command, and accessing the transmission device status interface device in the network device via the network device communication device and the agent communication device, and stored in the transmission device status interface device. A data access device for acquiring the alarm data, wherein an interrupt signal line used when accessing the alarm signal detection device from the alarm detection device is used as a line connecting the agent communication device and the network device communication device. And the data access device is Network management system characterized by having an information communication line to be used when accessing the transmission device status interface device. 2. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the network device has a transmission device state control monitoring device having a function of collecting data to be managed, which is data necessary for managing a communication network, and the transmission device. A transmission device status interface device connected to a status control monitoring device and having a function of storing the management target data, wherein the agent is connected to the network device communication device, and the network device periodically. A polling device having a function of issuing a polling signal representing an instruction to acquire the management target data, a timer connected to the polling device, which periodically starts the polling device, and a timer connected to the network device communication device. Before being obtained by an instruction from the manager and the alarm signal detection device. The data access device having a function of managing the data to be managed and the data to be managed acquired in response to the polling signal; a function connected to the data access device to store the data to be managed; A management information storage device having a function of storing information on a data storage location. 3. The network management system according to claim 2, wherein the management target data is a first type management target data that is stored only in the transmission device state interface device in the network device, and the management target data in the agent. Second type management target data stored in both the management information storage device and the transmission device state interface device in the network device, and only stored in the management information storage device in the agent When the managed data is the first managed data, the data access device communicates with the network device communication device via the network device communication device. The management target data is read from and written to the device, and the management target data is a second type management target. In the case of data, the data access device reads the management target data to the management information storage device in the agent, and, via the network device communication device, the data access device in the network device. The management target data is written to the transmission device state interface device, and when the management target data is the third type management target data, the data access device writes the management information storage device in the agent. Read and write the data to be managed, and further, the data access device in the agent is stored in the transmission device state interface device in the network device, and the management information storage device in the agent In response to the polling signal, Network management system characterized in that it acquired, copying from the transmission device status interface device in the network device in the management information storage device in said agent. 4. The network management system according to claim 3, wherein the management target data includes the alarm data, wherein the alarm signal detection device receives an alarm signal from the alarm detection device, and ,
The network management system, wherein when the alarm data extraction request signal is transmitted, the data access device preferentially acquires the alarm data. 5. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the agent monitors a load of the agent, and outputs a current load. A network management system, comprising: a timer setting time changing device that receives an output and changes the timer interval according to the received output. 6. The network management system according to claim 5, wherein when the load monitoring device detects an increase in the load in the agent, the timer setting time changing device increases the time interval of the timer, and When the device detects a decrease in the load in the agent, the timer setting time changing device shortens the time interval of the timer to make the polling interval variable, thereby reducing the load in the agent. Network management system. 7. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the communication device for network devices has priority over a management target data acquisition command input from the polling device and the data access device. A priority judging device for judging a degree and assigning a label indicating the priority; an operation availability judging device for storing a management target data acquisition command judged to be the lowest priority in the priority judging device; A plurality of priority-based instruction storage devices for storing, by priority, managed data acquisition instructions other than the managed data acquisition instruction determined to be the lowest priority among the managed data acquisition instructions determined by the device; From the operation availability determination device and the management target data acquisition command stored in the plurality of priority-based command storage devices, to the agent communication. Network management system characterized in that it is constituted by the operation target selection unit for selecting a managed data acquisition command issued to the location. 8. The network management system according to claim 7, wherein the operation target selection device is a command storage device for each priority.
The management target data acquisition instruction having the highest priority at the present time retrieves the management target data acquisition instruction from the storage device in which the highest priority instruction is stored, and accesses the agent communication device. A network management method, comprising: receiving a management target data acquisition command only when communication is not being performed; and notifying a device that has input the management target data acquisition command of non-acceptance when a network device is performing communication. system. 9. The network management system according to claim 7, wherein the alarm data acquisition command of the network device is a management target data acquisition command having the highest priority. 10. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the manager and the agent both perform data transmission in accordance with an encoding rule used for data transmission between the manager and the agent. A management protocol execution device and a management protocol encoding device having a function of decoding and encoding the data.The encoding rule defines a data type of a data length, and collectively encodes the data length and the data type. A network management system characterized by increasing data transfer efficiency by shortening data. 11. A network device comprising a device for configuring a communication network and monitoring a transmission state of the communication network, an agent for monitoring and managing the network device, the network device and the agent In a network management system comprising a manager that monitors and manages the whole, the agent receives a signal from the manager via the pair manager communication device that communicates with the manager and the manager communication device, A management protocol execution device that interprets the signal in accordance with a management protocol between the agent and the manager to specify data to be managed required for network management; and data relating to a storage location of the managed data and the managed data. Store Searching for a storage location of the management target data stored in the management information storage device or stored in the network device based on the output of the management information storage device and the output of the management protocol execution device; A data access device for reading and writing data;
A communication device for communicating with the network device, and a management protocol encoding device for converting a response obtained as a result of the access by the data access device into a format according to a management protocol between the agent and the manager A polling device that periodically issues a request to obtain data to be managed by the network device, a timer that periodically starts the polling device, and indicates that a failure has occurred in the network device from within the network device. An alarm signal detection device for detecting an alarm signal and transmitting an alarm data extraction request signal for requesting extraction of alarm data that is detailed information of the fault stored in the network device to the data access device; The management target data in the management information storage device An alarm detecting device in the agent to monitor, and an alarm generating device receiving an output from the alarm detecting device in the agent and the alarm signal detecting device and generating an alarm, wherein the network device collects the management target data Transmission device state control monitoring device, storing the management target data obtained by the transmission device state control monitoring device,
A transmission device state interface device having a function of performing writing from the agent and giving priority to writing from within the network device when writing from the agent overlaps with writing from within the network device; Communication with the agent and an alarm detection device having a function of detecting a failure in the device, outputting an alarm signal to the alarm signal detection device in the agent, and storing the alarm data in the transmission device state interface device as the alarm data. And a communication line between the agent communication device and the network device communication device, and has an interrupt signal line used when accessing the alarm signal detection device from the alarm detection device, and The data access device is A network management system comprising an information communication line used when accessing a transmission device state interface device.