JP4355471B2 - Communication device having alarm transfer function - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication device having a warning transfer function in a communication network, and in particular, receives a main signal packet and terminates the main signal packet according to a description of a header of the received main signal packet, or A first main signal transmission means having a plurality of main signal transmission means for transmitting a main signal packet loaded with the main signal, and having a function of detecting a failure of the communication network, among the plurality of main signal transmission means; The present invention relates to an alarm transfer method in a communication apparatus having a main signal transmission path for sequentially connecting the main signal transmission means.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Among the conventional alarm collection methods in the transmission device, there is a method in which the monitoring device always polls and monitors the alarm and status information generated in the monitoring target device regardless of whether the monitoring target device has an alarm.
[0003]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a communication apparatus having a conventional alarm transfer system using polling.
In FIG. 5, the communication device is displayed as a control unit 50 and a main signal unit 51. At the time of alarm collection, the control unit 50 functions as a monitoring device, and the monitoring target device is the main signal unit 51. For the sake of simplicity, FIG. 5 shows that the main signal unit 51 is composed of a main signal processing unit 51-1, a main signal processing unit 51-2, and a main signal processing unit 51-3. Yes. Each main signal processing unit transmits and receives a main signal according to the control of the control unit 50.
[0004]
The control unit 50 polls the alarm of the main signal unit 51 at regular intervals for alarm collection. When an alarm is generated in the main signal processing unit 51-3, the alarm is detected by polling of the control unit 50. In this case, the control unit 50 performs alarm transfer control 1 for the main signal processing unit 51-1, and then performs alarm transfer control 2 for the main signal processing unit 51-2.
[0005]
As described above, the conventional polling alarm collection method requires the intervention of a control unit, and therefore has a first problem that transfer control is delayed depending on the polling cycle.
[0006]
Furthermore, when the alarm transfer processing is diverse, the control unit needs to determine the transfer processing status, and for this purpose, the control unit must grasp the alarm transfer processing of the entire main signal processing unit. As a result, there is a second problem that the load on the control unit increases.
[0007]
Recently, with the development of the ATM communication system, instead of a specific monitoring device collecting alarms by polling, when a failure occurs in the ATM communication system, the device that has detected the failure is a VP-AIS (VP anomaly). An alarm) cell is generated and a failure detection notification is made using the ATM communication system, and many inventions related to this are disclosed.
[0008]
As is well known, when a transmission path failure occurs in an ATM communication network, all VPs (virtual paths) multiplexed on the transmission path fail, so an ATM switch on this all-failed VP. It is necessary to promptly perform processing such as failure notification, line blockage, and switching at the VP level for the terminal device. Since all information is transferred in the cell on the VP, the alarm notification cell is defined for the failure notification, and the failure notification is performed by transferring the cell.
[0009]
In the alarm transfer, (1) the failure state of the VP multiplexed on its own due to a failure of the transmission path of its own device, and (2) the VP in which the VP-AIS cell is transmitted due to the failure of the transmission path of another device Among them, there is a case where a failure state of a VP that terminates in the own device or a VP that passes through the own device is detected. In the case of (1), the transmission line failure signal is transmitted by the individual line, whereas in the case of (2), the transmission line failure is transmitted by the VP-AIS cell. There is a problem that two kinds of signals are input to set the state. (See the description of the prior art in JP-A-6-338898)
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-338898 discloses an alarm transfer system intended to solve this problem. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the ATM communication failure detection notification device 111 described in this publication. Hereinafter, this technique is referred to as a gazette description technique.
[0010]
The line / connection terminal 101 inputs and outputs the ATM communication signal 106 and the main signal cell 107, respectively, and outputs a channel failure signal 110 when a line or connection failure is detected. The failure notification cell generation unit 102 gives the first failure notification cell 108 to the cell insertion unit 104A in response to the channel failure signal 110, thereby performing cell insertion in the main signal cell stream 107. The first failure notification cell 108 is copied or extracted by the copying / extracting unit 105 provided downstream of the main signal cell stream 107. The main signal cell that passes through the communication device is transmitted from the copying / extracting unit 105 to the downstream node device.
[0011]
The failure notification cell detection / generation unit 103 detects the first failure notification cell 108 ′ copied or extracted by the copying / extracting unit 105 and determines the failure state. Moreover, the 2nd failure notification cell 109 is produced | generated in response to this, and this is given to the cell insertion part 104B. As a result, the failure notification cell is inserted into the transmission side cell stream.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the technique described in the above publication, an alarm can be notified by an ATM cell in both cases (1) and (2).
However, the technology described in this publication includes the following problems.
a) Since the flow of alarm transfer processing is performed in a single time series, in any case, if the signal processing of the previous stage (for example, cell extraction / copying 105) is not completed, the signal processing of the subsequent stage (failure) The notification cell detection / generation process 103) cannot be executed. Therefore, the alarm transfer process cannot be distributed.
b) When there are various requests for alarm transfer processing order and time (for example, for the transfer factor detected by a certain signal processing, signal processing 1 in the subsequent stage transfers alarm A for 1 second, and further The signal processing 2 becomes 2 seconds later and the alarm B is transferred for 3 seconds).
[0013]
An object of the present invention is to provide an alarm transfer device that can perform distributed processing of alarm transfer processing and can flexibly respond to the requests even when the requests for alarm transfer processing are diverse.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a case in which a failure occurs in a communication network and an alarm is incidentally associated therewith, or in the case where some information is transmitted to notify a downstream device that the communication network is abnormal. It relates to an information transmission method. Hereinafter, this operation is described as “alarm transfer”.
[0015]
Communication devices to which the present invention is applied are communication devices of a communication network, each receiving a main signal packet and terminating the main signal packet according to the description of the header of the received main signal packet, or A first main unit having a plurality of (n) main signal transmitting means for transmitting main signal packets loaded with the main signal, and having a function of detecting a failure in the communication network among the plurality of main signal transmitting means. It is a communication apparatus having a main signal transmission path for sequentially connecting the signal transmission means and the other second, third,..., Nth main signal transmission means.
[0016]
In the communication device of the present invention, the first main signal transmission means divides the alarm transfer processing for notifying one failure of the communication network into a plurality of mutually independent alarm transfer processing elements defined in advance, When a network failure is detected, the alarm transfer control information describing the contents of each of the plurality of alarm transfer processing elements is used as an alarm transfer control packet to transmit another different main signal via the main signal transmission path. Send to each means,
The main signal transmitting means that has received the alarm transfer control packet executes alarm transfer according to the alarm transfer control information described in the received packet.
[0017]
Thus, the first main signal transmission unit can transmit the alarm transfer control information with the main signal transmission unit that actually performs the transfer process as the destination, so that the alarm transfer control can be performed at high speed.
[0018]
Since the alarm transfer processing element is independent of other alarm transfer processing elements, the main signal transmitting means that has received the alarm transfer control packet can execute the alarm transfer process independently of each other. As a result, the alarm transfer process can be distributed. Further, the alarm transfer process can be performed at high speed by the distributed process.
[0019]
The alarm transfer control packet includes a packet type field describing that the packet is an alarm transfer control packet, a transfer target field describing information specifying the transmission destination of the alarm transfer control packet, and a type of alarm to be transferred. It is a preferred embodiment to have a forwarding alert field in which information specifying the is described.
[0020]
As described above, each alarm transfer processing element is an independent process, but when it is required to execute these alarm transfer processing elements in a predetermined time series, the alarm transfer control information includes the alarm transfer control element. Time information specifying the time at which the transfer processing element is to be executed can be included. Then, the time information includes information specifying both or one of the alarm transfer start time and stop time and information specifying the alarm transfer time, and performs ordering of the transfer processing for a plurality of main signal transmission means. be able to. In this way, each main signal transmission unit can achieve the alarm transfer process in a constant time series as a whole without being aware of the other main signal transmission units.
[0021]
Therefore, as a preferred embodiment, the alarm transfer control packet includes a transfer start / stop field in which information specifying both or one of the alarm transfer start time and stop time is described, and information specifying the alarm transfer time. And a transfer time field.
[0022]
Since the alarm transfer control packet has a small amount of information, when the communication network is an ATM communication network, the alarm transfer control information can be stored in a part of the payload of the ATM cell.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an alarm transfer device according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the system of this embodiment includes a main signal transmission unit 11, a main signal transmission unit 12, a main signal transmission unit 13, an in-device transmission path 14, and an in-device transmission path 15. The alarm transfer control is performed by the alarm transfer control packet 16 and the alarm transfer control packet 17.
[0024]
The main signal transmission unit 11, the main signal transmission unit 12, and the main signal transmission unit 13 each terminate the main signal packet in the device, and send a packet in which the main signal is mounted according to the description of the header of the packet, In addition, there are provided means (hardware and software) for transmitting and receiving the alarm transfer control packets 16 and 17 and performing alarm transfer processing.
[0025]
The in-device transmission line 14 and the in-device transmission line 15 are normally transmission lines for transmitting a user main signal packet. In the present invention, at the time of alarm transfer, alarm transmission is performed using this transmission line. Exchange of the control packets 16 and 17 is executed.
[0026]
The alarm transfer control packet 16 and the alarm transfer control packet 17 are packets for controlling alarm transfer. The main signal transmission unit 13 that has detected the trigger for performing the alarm transfer transmits the alarm transfer control packet 16 and the alarm transfer control packet 17 to the main signal transmission unit 11 and the main signal transmission unit 12, respectively. The main signal transmission unit 11 and the main signal transmission unit 12 that have received the alarm transfer control packets 16 and 17 refer to the information in the packet and perform the transfer process described in the packet.
[0027]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of the alarm transfer control packet according to the present embodiment.
The alarm transfer control packet includes a packet type field 2-1, a transfer target field 2-2, a transfer alarm type field 2-3, a transfer start / stop field 2-4, and a transfer time field 2-5. .
[0028]
The packet type field 2-1 is a field for designating the type of packet. By providing this field, it is possible to distinguish from other purpose control packets. In this embodiment, an alarm transfer control packet is designated in this field.
[0029]
The transfer target field 2-2 specifies the ID of the main signal transmission unit that receives the alarm transfer control packet and performs the alarm transfer process. The main signal transmission unit that has received the alarm transfer control packet refers to the value of this field and performs transfer processing when it corresponds to itself. If not, go to the next stage. However, the main signal transmission unit located at the last stage in the apparatus discards without passing through if it does not correspond to itself.
[0030]
The transfer alarm type field 2-3 designates the type of alarm to be transferred. The main signal transmission unit that has received the alarm transfer control packet refers to the value of this field to perform the alarm transfer process.
[0031]
The transfer start / stop field 2-4 specifies whether to start or stop the transfer process. The main signal transmission unit that has received the alarm transfer control packet refers to the value of this field to start or stop the transfer process. If this field is "-", the transfer time field 2-5 is referred to.
[0032]
The transfer time field 2-5 specifies the alarm transfer time. The main signal transmission unit that has received the alarm transfer control packet performs the transfer process for the time specified with reference to this field only when the value of the transfer start / stop field 2-4 is "-".
[0033]
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of the present embodiment. This operation example is an example in the case of using the format of FIG. 2, and when the main signal transmission unit 13 detects a signal interruption, the main signal transmission unit 11 stops signal output for 1 second, and then transmits the main signal. This is an example when the signal abnormality packet is transmitted to the subsequent stage by the unit 12. That is, this is an example in which independent alarm transfer processing elements are implemented in a predetermined order by two main signal transmission units when one alarm is generated.
[0034]
For this purpose, the alarm transfer control and main signal transmitter 12 are written in the packet type field 2-1 and the transfer target field 2-2 of the alarm transfer control packet 17, respectively. Also, signal abnormality, start, and-are written in the transfer alarm type field 2-3, transfer start / stop field 2-4, and transfer time field 2-5, respectively. The alarm transfer control and main signal processing unit 11 is written in the packet type field 2-1 and the transfer target field 2-2 of the alarm transfer control packet 16, respectively. Also, output stop,-, and 1 second are written in the transfer alarm type field 2-3, transfer start / stop field 2-4, and transfer time field 2-5, respectively.
[0035]
In operation, first, the main signal transmission unit 13 detects a signal break. At this time, the alarm transfer control packet 16 is sent from the main signal transmission unit 13 to the main signal transmission unit 11 and the alarm transfer control packet 17 is sent to the main signal transmission unit 12 in this order.
[0036]
The alarm transfer control packet 16 first reaches the main signal transmission unit 12, but passes through this packet because the transfer target field 2-2 is the main signal transmission unit 11. Next, the packet 16 reaches the main signal transmission unit 11. Similarly, the main signal transmitter 11 confirms the field 2-2 and recognizes that it is addressed to itself. Thereafter, the transfer alarm type field 2-3, the transfer start / stop field 2-4, and the transfer time field 2-5 of the packet 16 are checked to check the transfer process to be performed by the packet 16 itself. In this case, since the transfer alarm type field 2-3 is “output stop”, the transfer start / stop field 2-4 is “−”, and the transfer time field 2-5 is “1 second”, the output stop is 1 second. carry out.
[0037]
Next, the transmitted alarm transfer control packet 17 reaches the main signal transmission unit 12. Since the transfer target field 2-2 is the main signal transmission unit 12, the main signal transmission unit 12 recognizes that it is addressed to itself. Thereafter, the transfer alarm type field 2-3, the transfer start / stop field 2-4, and the transfer time field 2-5 of the packet 17 are confirmed, and the transfer processing to be performed by the user 17 is confirmed. In this case, since the transfer alarm type field 2-3 is “signal abnormality”, the transfer start / stop field 2-4 is “start”, and the transfer time field 2-5 is “−”, the signal abnormality transfer process is started. To do.
[0038]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the ATM cell according to the second embodiment of the alarm transfer device of the present invention. Also in this embodiment, alarm transfer control is performed on the in-device transmission path using the alarm transfer control packet. In the first embodiment described above, a packet dedicated to alarm transfer control is defined and used. However, in this embodiment, a part of the user data signal (part of the payload) is defined as the alarm transfer control packet. Use as a field.
[0039]
An example of an ATM apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In an ATM device, a 53-byte ATM cell is the transmission unit. Of these, the first 5 bytes are header information, and the remaining 48 bytes are called a payload, which is an area for storing user data.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, alarm transfer control is performed using the first two bytes of the 48 bytes. The structure of the alarm transfer control field in this case is the same as the example described in FIG. The fields designated by reference numerals 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5 are 2-1, 2-2, 2-1, 2, 4 and 2-5 in FIG. It corresponds to.
[0041]
Since the alarm transfer control packet defined in the present invention has a small amount of information, a part of the user data area can be used. As a result, the processing is the same as when handling ATM cells carrying user data, so that the efficiency of hardware processing can be improved.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention has the following effects.
1) Alarm transmission is performed by the main signal transmission unit that detects an alarm using the in-device transmission path to directly transmit the alarm transfer control packet to the main signal transmission unit that executes the alarm transfer processing element to perform alarm transfer control. Processing can be performed at higher speed.
2) By providing a transfer target field in the format of the alarm transfer control packet, it becomes possible to specify the main signal transmission unit that performs the transfer process, and the alarm transfer processing element is independent of only the designated main signal transmission unit. Can be performed.
Further, when performing a plurality of transfer processes, the transmission control of the alarm transfer control packet can be ordered according to the time information of the alarm transfer control information. On the other hand, it becomes possible to order the transfer processes. As a result, it is possible to perform alarm transfer control at a high speed in consideration of the ordering of the entire alarm transfer process.
3) By providing a transfer time field in the format of the alarm transfer control packet, it is possible to flexibly cope with a request for the alarm transfer time.
4) Since each alarm transfer processing element is independent, each main signal transmitting unit only needs to know the alarm to be transferred by the own device, and the processing can be distributed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication apparatus having an alarm transfer function according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of an alarm transfer control packet according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation example according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an ATM cell according to a second embodiment of a communication apparatus having an alarm transfer function according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional example of an alarm transfer device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a technology described in the gazette of the alarm transfer device.
2-1, 4-1 Packet type field 2-2, 4-2 Transfer target field 2-3, 4-3 Transfer alarm type field 2-4, 4-4 Transfer start / stop field 2-5, 4-5 Transfer time field 11, 12, 13 Main signal transmission unit 14, 15 Intra-device transmission path 16, 17 Alarm transfer control packet 50 Control unit 51 Main signal unit 51-1, 51-2, 51-3 Main signal processing unit 101 Line Connection termination 102 Failure notification cell generation unit 103 Failure notification cell detection / generation unit 104A, 104B Cell insertion unit 105 Copy / extraction unit 106, 106 'ATM communication signal 107 Main signal cell 108, 108' Failure notification cell 109 Failure notification cell 110 channel failure signal 111 failure detection notification circuit for ATM communication

Claims (6)

A communication device of a communication network,
Each receives a main signal packet according to the header of the description of the main signal packet received, first terminates the main signal packet, or to out feed, second, ..., main signals of the n possess a transmission unit, the first, second, ..., a main signal transmission line connecting the main signal transmitting means of the first n sequentially,
The first main signal transmission means has a function of detecting a failure of the communication network, and a warning transfer process for notifying one failure is defined as a plurality of mutually independent alarm transfer processing elements. split, when a fault of the communication network is detected, the corresponding to each alarm transfer processing elements, sequentially alarm transfer control information describing the contents of the alarm transfer processing element, the main signal as alarm transfer control packet de sent to the transmission line,
The second to n-th main signal transmission means receives the alarm transfer control packet, and if it is an alarm transfer control packet addressed to itself , transmits the alarm according to the alarm transfer control information described in the alarm transfer control packet. Execute the process , if it is not an alarm transfer control packet addressed to itself, the received alarm transfer control packet is passed to the main signal transmission means at the subsequent stage, but if it is the n-th main signal transmission means, the received A communication device having an alarm transfer function for discarding an alarm transfer control packet . It said alarm transfer control packet includes a transfer object field information the packet to specify the packet type field describing that the alarm transfer control packet, the main signal transmitting means of the destination of the alarm transfer control packet are described has a transfer alarm field information that specifies the type of alarm to be transferred is written, the communication apparatus according to claim 1. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the alarm transfer control information includes time information that specifies a time during which the alarm transfer processing element is to be executed. The time information includes information for specifying either or both of the start and stop times of the alarm transfer, and an information that specifies the alarm transfer time, communication apparatus according to claim 3. The alarm transfer control packet includes a transfer start / stop field in which information specifying both or one of the alarm transfer start time and stop time is described, and a transfer time field in which information specifying the alarm transfer time is described. The communication device according to claim 4, comprising:   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication network is an ATM communication network, and the alarm transfer control information is stored in a part of a payload of an ATM cell.

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