JP4238834B2 - Network management system and network management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a network management system and a network management program for automatically changing a network configuration when a failure occurs in a communication path in a communication network in which communication is performed using TCP / IP or UDP / IP.

  As a network management system that automatically assigns another route to communication between nodes when a failure occurs in a communication route between nodes, for example, there is a system described in Patent Document 1. In the system, the node that detects the failure reports the failure to the network management device. Upon receiving the failure report, the network management device sets a route that bypasses the communication route in which the failure has occurred, and distributes information about the new communication route to all nodes.

  In such a system, a detour can be set without providing a redundant spare communication path. However, in such a system, it is necessary to configure the network in a loop.

  In a communication network in which communication is performed using TCP / IP, for example, a technique called a spanning tree protocol is employed so that a loop configuration does not occur in a communication network when a layer 2 switch is used as a node. For example, if a broadcast frame flows through a communication network that includes a layer 2 switch as a node and includes a loop configuration, the frame may continue to flow through the communication network forever.

JP 11-252104 A (paragraphs 0012-0017, FIG. 1)

  However, when the spanning tree protocol is used, a function for realizing the spanning tree protocol must be installed in each node. As a result, there is a problem that the price of the device constituting each node increases.

  Therefore, in the communication network using TCP / IP or UDP / IP, the present invention automatically transfers another route between nodes when a failure occurs in the communication route without increasing the price of a device constituting the node. An object of the present invention is to provide a network management system and a network management program that can be assigned to the communication of the network.

Network management system according to the present invention is a network management system to change the network configuration in the event of a communication network including a plurality of nodes that communicate using TCP / IP and UDP / IP fails, a plurality of nodes Each of which stores a MIB and includes a network management device communicably connected to at least one of the nodes, and the network management device performs a process of changing the network configuration when a failure occurs in the communication network. Network management software for causing the control unit to be installed, and the network management software detects that a failure has occurred in multiple nodes or wiring connecting each node, and also identifies the content of the failure (For example, the failure event receiver 122 and the failure event Analysis unit 123, or network status monitoring unit 122A and network status abnormality analysis unit 123A), and a fault response method selection unit (for example, fault response) that selects a fault response method according to the content of the fault identified by the fault identification processing unit A new network configuration for resolving the fault is selected according to the fault response method specified by the method search unit 124 or the network fault response method search unit 124A) and the fault response method selection unit and the current network configuration. The network configuration selection unit (for example, the configuration information management unit 126 and the configuration change pattern search unit 127) and a command (instruction) indicating the network configuration selected by the network configuration selection unit are transmitted to the nodes involved in the network configuration change. Network configuration command transmitter (for example, Look including a formation change instruction unit 128), the fault identification processing unit, the control unit, while the items in the MIB received in SNMP from each of the plurality of nodes, the content of the item in the MIB contents previously received When there is an item different from the above, it is detected that a failure has occurred based on the difference between the content of the item in the received MIB and the content of the item in the MIB received last time .

  When each node receives a command indicating the network configuration from the network management device, each node stores, for example, its contents and performs data transfer control (for example, routing) based on the stored contents.

  A management network that connects the network management device and all nodes to be managed so that they can communicate with each other, and the network management software connects multiple nodes or each node to the control unit via the management network It may be configured to detect that a failure has occurred.

A network management program according to the present invention is installed in a network management apparatus that performs control to change a network configuration when a failure occurs in a communication network including a plurality of nodes that perform communication using TCP / IP or UDP / IP. A program that allows a computer to detect that a failure has occurred in multiple nodes or wiring that connects each node, and to identify the failure content and the failure identified by the failure identification processing. A failure response method selection process that selects a failure response method according to the content, and a new network configuration to resolve the failure according to the failure response method specified by the failure response method selection process and the current network configuration The network configuration selection process to be selected and the network configuration selection process A command indicating the network configuration, the network configuration command transmission process of transmitting to a node related to changes in the network configuration to execute, in the abnormality determination process, among the items in the MIB received in SNMP from each of the plurality of nodes, When there is an item whose content is different from the content of the item in the MIB received last time, a failure has occurred based on the difference between the content of the item in the received MIB and the content of the item in the MIB received last time. This is characterized in that it is detected .

  According to the present invention, by coordinating network monitoring and network device control by a network management program installed in a network management device, it is not necessary to install a failure handling means such as a spanning tree protocol in the node, and the node is configured. Without increasing the price of the device to be used, when a failure occurs in the communication path, another path can be automatically assigned to the communication between the nodes.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network management system according to the first embodiment of this invention. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, network devices 21, 22, and 23 that form a communication network are connected by wires 31 and 32. A wiring 31 is connected to the port of the network device 21. In addition, wirings 31 and 32 are connected to the ports of the network device 22. A wiring 32 is connected to the port of the network device 23. The network devices 21, 22, and 23 communicate with each other by TCP / IP or UDP / IP.

  A spare wiring 33 is connected to the ports of the network device 21 and the network device 23. However, as long as there is no failure in the communication network, communication between the network device 21 and the network device 23 is performed via the wiring 31, the network device 22, and the wiring 32. 1 illustrates the network devices 21, 22, and 23 as three nodes, the number of network devices in the communication network is not limited.

  The network device 21 can communicate with the network device 21 by managing the communication network, for example, monitoring the occurrence of a failure in the wirings 31 and 32, monitoring the ports of the network devices 21, 22, and 23, and controlling the configuration change of the communication network. It is connected. The network management device 10 includes at least network management software 12 for executing management of a communication network, and a control unit (CPU) 11 that operates according to the network management software 12. The network management device 10 also includes an interface unit (not shown) that controls data transmission / reception with the network device 21. Further, the network management apparatus 10 performs monitoring regarding the network apparatuses 22 and 23 via the network apparatus 21.

  The network management device 10 is realized by a personal computer or a server device, for example. The network devices 21, 22, and 23 are, for example, hubs, routers, bridges, and the like.

  In this embodiment, the network management software 12 is a manager program that causes the control unit 11 to monitor the network devices 21, 22, and 23 using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). In the following, for the sake of simplicity, the execution of some processing by the control unit 11 according to the network management software 12 is expressed as “the network management software 12 executes (or performs processing)”. Sometimes.

  IP addresses are assigned to the network devices 21, 22, and 23, respectively. Each of the network devices 21, 22, and 23 stores the status of its own device as an MIB (Management Information Base). In the MIB, for example, information indicating the operation status of the own device, traffic information, log data, a specific message recorded in the log, and the like are recorded. Each piece of information is called an object.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the network management software 12. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the network management software 12 includes a network failure detection function unit 121 and a network device control function unit 125. The network failure detection function unit 121 includes a failure event reception unit 122 that performs processing for receiving a failure event from the network devices 21, 22, and 23, a failure event analysis unit 123 that performs analysis of the failure event, and a result of analysis. A failure response method search unit 124 that searches for what kind of response to the failure is performed. The storage unit of the network management device 10 stores in advance a table of failures that may occur and methods for dealing with the failures. Further, the network management software 12 receives a failure event from the network device 22 via the network device 21. Then, the failure event from the network device 23 is received via the network devices 21 and 22.

  The network device control function unit 125 includes a configuration information management unit 126 that performs processing for grasping the current network configuration, a configuration change pattern search unit 127 that searches for a new network configuration according to a failure handling method, and a network configuration after the change The configuration change command unit 128 is transmitted to the network devices 21, 22, and 23. The network device 22 receives the command transmitted from the network management device 10 via the network device 21. The network device 23 receives the command transmitted from the network management device 10 via the network devices 21 and 22.

  The network management device 10 and the network devices 21, 22, and 23 store data indicating the current network configuration. In addition, the network management apparatus 10 stores in advance data indicating a network configuration (network configuration after reconfiguration) to be reconfigured according to a failure handling method for a failure that may occur.

  FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of data indicating the current network configuration. The example shown in FIG. 3A corresponds to a network configuration when no failure has occurred. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, for example, the wiring 31 indicates that the network device 21 and the network device 22 are connected. FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of data indicating the network configuration after reconfiguration. The example shown in FIG. 3B corresponds to a network configuration used when a failure occurs in the wiring 32. Although only an example is shown in FIG. 3B, a lot of data indicating the network configuration after reconfiguration is stored according to the type of the failure handling method.

  Further, the method of representing data indicating the network configuration as shown in FIG. 3 is an example, and other representation methods may be used as long as the network configuration can be described. For example, each network configuration is stored in the storage unit in a format such as a state transition diagram in which a failure response method or a failure event that has occurred is transitioned from another network configuration to another network configuration as a state transition factor. You may do it. When data such as that illustrated in FIG. 3 is used, data related to wiring that is not input to a port of a network device is not stored in the network device. For example, data related to the wiring 31 may not be stored in the network device 23.

  Next, the operation of the network management apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the network failure detection function unit 121, the failure event reception unit 122 periodically issues a MIB transmission request (SNMP GET command) to the network devices 21, 22, and 23, and the network devices 21, 22, and 23 In response, the MIB of the own device is transmitted to the network management device 10. When the failure event reception unit 122 receives the MIB, the failure event analysis unit 123 compares the MIB received last time with the MIB received this time for each of the network devices 21, 22, and 23. If there are objects having different contents, it is determined whether or not a failure has occurred based on the difference in contents. If it is determined that a failure has occurred, it is identified what kind of failure (failure event) has occurred (step S2). If it is determined in step S2 that a failure has occurred, a failure event has actually been received in step S1. Further, the failure event receiving unit 122 and the failure event analyzing unit 123 realize processing for detecting that a failure has occurred in each node or that a failure has occurred in the wiring connecting the nodes.

  The network failure detection function unit 121 not only periodically sends a MIB transmission request, but also when the network device 21, 22, 23 detects a failure event, the failure event is sent to the network management device 10 with an SNMP trap command. May be sent. In that case, the failure event reception unit 122 receives the failure event and outputs the received failure event to the failure event analysis unit 123. Then, the failure event analysis unit 123 can immediately identify the failure event from the output of the failure event reception unit 122.

  If the failure event analysis unit 123 determines that a failure has occurred, the failure response method search unit 124 searches the storage unit and corresponds to the failure event identified by the failure event analysis unit 123. Is extracted (step S3). Then, the extracted failure handling method is output to the network device control function unit 125.

  In the network device control function unit 125, the configuration information management unit 126 searches the storage unit and confirms the current network configuration (see FIG. 3) (step S4). The configuration change pattern search unit 127 searches the storage unit based on the current network configuration and the failure response method, and extracts a new network configuration corresponding to the failure response method, that is, a new network configuration for eliminating the failure ( Step S5). Then, the configuration change command unit 128 transmits information indicating a new network configuration or information for making a new network configuration to the network device related to the change (step S6).

Next, a specific example will be described.
Assume that a failure occurs in the wiring 32. In that case, the failure event analysis unit 123 causes a failure in the wiring 32 when, for example, the error rate of data from the network device 22 exceeds a predetermined value in the MIB received from the network device 23. (Step S2). The failure event analysis unit 123 also determines that a failure has occurred in the wiring 32 even when there is information indicating that communication with the network device 23 is impossible in the MIB received from the network device 22, for example. judge. Furthermore, when the network device 22 detects that communication with the network device 23 is not possible, it may be transmitted to the network management device 10 as a failure event. When it is determined that a failure has occurred in the wiring 32, the failure handling method search unit 124 selects a failure handling method of securing a communication path to the network device 23 (step S3).

  Further, the configuration change pattern search unit 127 uses a network configuration that satisfies the failure handling method of securing a communication path to the network device 23 based on the current network configuration (in this example, based on the information shown in FIG. 3B). Configuration) is selected (step S5). Then, the configuration change command unit 128 transmits information indicating the new network configuration (in this example, information shown in FIG. 3B) to the network devices 21, 22, and 23. In this example, all the network devices 21, 22, and 23 correspond to network devices related to the change. Each network device 21, 22, 23 stores information indicating a new network configuration received from the network management device 10 in each storage unit. Thereafter, for example, when the network devices 21, 22, and 23 are routers, routing processing is executed based on information indicating a new network configuration.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when a failure occurs in a communication network in which communication is performed using TCP / IP or UDP / IP, network configuration change control is executed by the network management software 12. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount failure handling means such as a spanning tree protocol in the network devices 21, 22, and 23.

  In addition, when the network device is a device for connecting an external network or a device for connecting different LAN segments, it is easy to disconnect the network to narrow down the failure range caused by computer viruses. be able to.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the network management system according to the second embodiment of this invention. In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the network management device 10 and the network devices 21, 22, and 23 are connected by a wire 41 that is different from the wires 31 and 32. Hereinafter, a communication network composed of the network devices 21, 22, 23 and the wires 31, 32 is referred to as a work network, and a communication network composed of the network management device 10, the wire 41, and the network devices 21, 22, 23 is referred to as a work network. It is called a management network.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the network management software 12 in this embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the network failure detection function unit 121 includes a network state monitoring unit 122A that performs processing for detecting an abnormality in the work network, a network state abnormality analysis unit 123A that performs abnormality analysis, and an analysis It includes a network abnormality response method search unit 124A that searches for what kind of response to abnormality. The storage unit of the network management apparatus 10 stores in advance a table of abnormalities that may occur and a method for dealing with the abnormalities. The configuration of the network device control function unit 125 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

  Next, the operation of the network management apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The network status monitoring unit 122A monitors the status of the work network. For example, traffic is monitored. If the network state monitoring unit 122A determines that an abnormality has occurred in the network state, the network state monitoring unit 122A transmits information indicating the network state to the network state abnormality analysis unit 123A (step S11). The network state abnormality analysis unit 123A analyzes the information indicating the state of the network and identifies the abnormality that has occurred (step S12).

  The network abnormality handling method searching unit 124A searches the storage unit to extract an abnormality handling method corresponding to the abnormality identified by the network state abnormality analyzing unit 123A (step S13). Then, the extracted abnormality handling method is output to the network device control function unit 125. The operation of the network device control function unit 125 is the same as in the case of the first embodiment. However, the configuration change command unit 128 transmits commands to the network devices 21, 22, and 23 via the management network.

  The network state monitoring unit 122A may perform the same processing as the failure event reception unit 122 in the first embodiment, and may monitor the state of the work network. Further, the network state abnormality analysis unit 123A executes the same processing as the failure event analysis unit 123A in the first embodiment, and further analyzes information indicating the state of the network to identify the abnormality that has occurred. It may be.

  6 shows an example in which the wiring 33 does not exist, the wiring 33 may be provided as in the case of the first embodiment.

Next, a specific example will be described.
It is assumed that the traffic from the network device 23 increases rapidly in the wiring 32. That is, assume that high-load traffic occurs. The network state monitoring unit 122A constantly or periodically monitors the traffic in the network devices 21, 22, and 23 as the network state. When the occurrence of high load traffic is detected, the network state monitoring unit 122A outputs information indicating the network state to the network state abnormality analysis unit 123A (step S11). The network state abnormality analysis unit 123A analyzes information indicating the state of the network, and grasps that high-load traffic is generated in the port that inputs data from the network device 23 in the network device 22 (step S12).

  When it is determined that high-load traffic is generated in the port of the network device 22, the network abnormality handling method searching unit 124A selects an abnormality handling method of blocking the high-load port in the network device 22 (step S13).

  The configuration information management unit 126 grasps the current network configuration (step S4). In this example, a network configuration in which the wiring 32 is connected to the network device 22 is grasped. Therefore, the configuration change pattern search unit 127 selects the configuration change pattern of blocking the port connected to the wiring 32 in the network device 22 from the network configuration and the abnormality handling method of blocking the high load port (step S5). Then, the configuration change command unit 128 transmits to the network device 22 a command indicating that the port to which the wiring 32 is connected is blocked (Step S6). The network device 22 blocks the corresponding port according to the command.

  In this embodiment, the state of a communication network (work network in this example) is monitored, and when a state abnormality is detected, the network configuration can be changed according to the state abnormality. In addition to the work network, a management network is provided that connects the network management device 10 and all the network devices 21, 22, and 23 to be managed so as to communicate with each other, so that control via the work network is possible. It is possible to implement a response method for an abnormality that may be difficult (for example, the occurrence of a traffic abnormality).

  The present invention is applicable to uses such as management of communication networks used for IP telephones.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the network management system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the network management software in 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the data which shows a network structure. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the network management apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the network management system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the network management software in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the network management apparatus in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Network management device 11 Control unit (CPU)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Network management software 21, 22, 23 Network apparatus 31,32,33 Wiring 41 Wiring 121 Network failure detection function part 122 Fault event receiving part 123 Fault event analysis part 124 Fault response method search part 125 Network apparatus control function part 126 Configuration Information management unit 127 Configuration change pattern search unit 128 Configuration change command unit 122A Network status monitoring unit 123A Network status error analysis unit 124A Network error response method search unit

Claims (4)

A network management system that changes a network configuration when a failure occurs in a communication network including a plurality of nodes that perform communication using TCP / IP or UDP / IP,
Each of the plurality of nodes stores a MIB;
A network management device communicably connected to at least one of the nodes;
The network management device is equipped with network management software for causing the control unit to perform a process of changing the network configuration when a failure occurs in the communication network.
The network management software includes:
A failure identification processing unit for detecting that a failure has occurred in the plurality of nodes or wiring connecting each node, and for specifying the content of the failure;
A failure handling method selection unit that selects a failure handling method according to the content of the failure identified by the failure identification processing unit;
A network configuration selection unit for selecting a new network configuration for solving the failure according to the failure response method and the current network configuration specified by the failure response method selection unit;
A command indicating the selected network configured by the network configuration selection unit, seen including a network configuration command transmitting unit for transmitting to nodes involved in the network configuration changes,
In the failure identification processing unit, the control unit includes an item whose content is different from the content of the item in the MIB received last time among the items in the MIB received by SNMP from each of the plurality of nodes. A network management system that detects that a failure has occurred based on a difference between the content of the item in the received MIB and the content of the item in the MIB received last time . Each node, upon receiving a command from the network management apparatus showing the network configuration, the network management system according to claim 1, wherein saving the content, performs data transfer control based on the contents stored. It has a management network that connects the network management device and all managed nodes so that they can communicate.
Network management software, the control unit, via the management network, a plurality of nodes or claim 1 or claim 2 network management system according the wiring connecting each node fails to detects the occurrence. A program installed in a network management device that performs control to change a network configuration when a failure occurs in a communication network including a plurality of nodes that perform communication using TCP / IP or UDP / IP,
On the computer,
A fault identification process for detecting the occurrence of a fault in the plurality of nodes or wiring connecting each node, and specifying the content of the fault;
A failure response method selection process for selecting a failure response method according to the content of the failure identified by the failure identification process;
A network configuration selection process for selecting a new network configuration for resolving the failure according to the failure response method specified by the failure response method selection process and the current network configuration;
A network configuration command transmission process for transmitting a command indicating the network configuration selected by the network configuration selection process to a node involved in the network configuration change ;
In the failure identification process, when there is an item in the MIB that is received by SNMP from each of the plurality of nodes, the content of which is different from the content of the item in the MIB received last time, the received MIB A network management program for detecting that a failure has occurred based on the difference between the content of the item and the content of the item in the MIB received last time .

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