JP4433388B2 - Power supply control program for packet switch and packet signal terminator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a packet switch, and more particularly to a packet switch and a power supply control program for reducing power consumption of a packet signal termination device having a duplex configuration of an active system and a standby system.

  In many cases, a packet signal termination device (DCE: Data Circuit-terminating Equipment) in a current packet switch is operated in a duplex configuration by deploying an active device and a standby device.

  With such a duplex configuration, service stoppage and system down time are reduced as much as possible. For this reason, as the number of packet signal termination devices increases, the power consumption also increases, the power consumption of the carrier operator's system increases, and the power consumption cost adversely affects profits. Also, if the power consumption is large, the amount of heat generation increases and the amount of carbon dioxide (hereinafter referred to as CO2) emissions increases, which adversely affects the environment.

  In order to reduce the power consumption and heat generation of the packet signal terminator with a duplex configuration, it is necessary to change specifications such as reselecting low-power device products and reducing the number of parts. The device itself has to be redesigned, and the manufacturer who provides the packet signal termination device has a development cost and diminishes profitability.

  In order to reduce the power consumption in the operation of the packet switch as described above, the maintenance person turns off the standby packet signal terminator in the redundant configuration so that the standby packet signal terminator is set to Out Of Service ( The current situation is that there is a solution only to the state of not operating. However, in this case, when the corresponding packet signal termination device becomes a single operation, and the active packet signal termination device stops due to a failure or the like, the power of the standby packet signal termination device to be switched to is off, There is a possibility that the packet quality is lost until the maintenance person turns on the power and operates to deteriorate the service quality. Further, since it is necessary to always have a maintenance person in the recovery, the service stop time becomes long.

  A conventional technique for saving power consumption in the packet signal terminating device having such a duplex configuration is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-29881 (Patent Document 1).

In the transmission line switching method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the power supply of the standby transmission line termination unit is turned off in a normal state, and the error rate of the active signal from the active transmission line termination unit is low. When the power of the standby transmission line termination is turned on, the operation is switched to the standby transmission line termination when the error rate of the working signal exceeds the normal standard higher than the previous standard. It achieves power saving.
JP-A-6-029881

  In the prior art, since power is supplied to the standby packet terminating device that does not use the duplex configuration, the power consumption of the entire device increases, and there is a problem that adversely affects profitability and the environment.

  In order to reduce power consumption, when the power is turned on / off for the standby packet terminator in a redundant configuration with the intervention of a maintenance person, when the active packet signal terminator stops due to a failure or the like, the standby system that becomes the switching destination Since the power supply of the packet signal termination device is in an off state, there is a problem that a loss of the packet signal occurs and the service stop time becomes long due to the intervention of a maintenance person, thereby degrading the service quality.

  Further, in the conventional method disclosed in Patent Document 1, only when the signal error rate exceeds the standard due to a failure of the active termination device or the like, the power supply of the standby termination device is turned on. The on / off control of the power supply of the standby termination device cannot be performed regardless of the presence or absence of the termination device failure.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a packet that realizes a reduction in power consumption of a signal termination device by automatically powering off the standby packet signal termination device when there is no traffic of the active packet signal termination device having a duplex configuration. It is to provide a power supply control program for an exchange and a packet signal terminator.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a packet switch capable of preventing the deterioration of service quality such as loss of a packet signal even when the active packet termination device fails when the standby packet signal termination device is powered off. Another object of the present invention is to provide a power supply control program for the packet signal termination device.

The first packet switch of the present invention is a packet switch having a packet signal terminator having a duplex configuration of a working system and a standby system, and periodically monitors the presence / absence of a packet signal transmitted / received by the working system packet signal terminator. And control means for controlling the power supply of the standby packet signal termination device based on the presence or absence of the packet signal, and when the control means does not have a packet signal transmitted and received by the active packet signal termination device, Turn off the power to the terminating device .

The power control program for the first packet signal terminator of the present invention is executed on a packet switch having a packet signal terminator having a duplex configuration of the active system and the standby system, and performs power control of the standby packet signal terminal device. A power control program that periodically monitors the presence / absence of a packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator and has a control function for controlling the power of the standby packet signal terminator based on the presence / absence of the packet signal. When there is no packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the control function turns off the power of the standby packet signal terminator.

  According to the packet switch of the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

  When there is no traffic in the active packet signal terminator, power consumption can be reduced by turning off the backup packet signal terminator 30. In addition, this makes it possible to reduce the power consumption cost and to improve profitability and to suppress environmental pollution by reducing CO2 emissions.

  Also, when the standby packet signal termination device is turned off, it means that there is no traffic in the active packet termination device, so even if the active packet termination device fails, the packet signal Service quality degradation such as loss does not occur.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a characteristic configuration of a packet switch according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining traffic monitoring control in the packet switch according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a sequence of the traffic monitoring control.

  The packet switch 10 according to the present embodiment has a duplex configuration including an active packet signal termination device 30 and a standby packet signal termination device 40 as packet signal termination processing devices that transmit and receive packet signals to and from the opposite network 100 that is a packet line network. And a control device 20 for controlling the traffic of these two packet signal termination devices and controlling the power on and off.

  In FIG. 1, only the characteristic configuration requirements of the present invention are shown for the sake of convenience. However, the packet switch 10 is provided with switch means and other components for performing original line control. Needless to say.

  In addition, the control device 20 of the packet switch 10 of the present embodiment is realized by a computer processing unit (CPU) and a memory that can be controlled by a program, and for the original line control on the control device 20 (computer processing device). By loading and executing the line control program that realizes the functions of the packet signal and the power control program 50 of the packet signal terminator that realizes the functions for monitoring the packet and controlling the power of the packet signal terminator described below, Realize those functions. These programs are stored in a semiconductor memory or other recording medium, loaded from the recording medium to a computer processing apparatus, and control the operation of the computer processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, the control processing for the signal termination devices (30, 40) by the control device 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 and the timing chart of FIG.

  The control device 20 periodically starts a traffic monitoring process (step 201). The period for starting the traffic monitoring process may be a time interval of several tens of seconds, for example, but the length is not particularly limited.

  The control device 20 transmits a traffic collection request 301 (FIG. 3) to the active packet signal termination device 30 that is currently operating (step 202).

  The active packet signal termination device that has received the traffic collection request 301 controls a traffic collection response 302 (FIG. 3) for notifying the presence / absence of packet signal transmission / reception (traffic) between the active packet signal termination device 30 and the opposite network 100. A reply is sent to the device 20. The control device 20 receives the returned traffic collection response 302 (step 203) and determines whether or not there is traffic (step 204).

  If there is no traffic (traffic = “0”), it is determined whether the backup packet signal termination device 40 is in a power-off state (step 205).

  If the backup packet signal termination device 40 is in a power-off state in step 205, the previous state is maintained to maintain the power-off state without performing power-on / off control (step 206), and the process is terminated. (Step 207) and wait until the next cycle. At this time, the packet signal termination device is in a single operation.

  In step 205, if the backup packet signal termination device 40 is not powered off (when the power is on), a power off request 401 is transmitted to the backup packet signal termination device 40 (step 208), the processing is terminated and the next Wait until the cycle (step 207). At this time, the packet signal termination device is in a single operation.

  If it is determined in step 204 that there is a track (traffic ≠ “0”), it is determined whether the backup packet signal termination device 40 is in a power-off state (step 209).

  If the backup packet signal termination device 40 is in a power-off state in step 209, a power-on request 402 is transmitted to the backup packet signal termination device 40 (step 210), and the process is terminated until the next cycle. Wait (step 207). At this time, the packet signal termination device is in a duplex operation.

  In step 209, if the backup packet signal termination device 40 is not powered off (when the power is on), it is assumed to hold the previous power state without holding the power on / off control (step 211). The process ends and waits until the next cycle (step 207). At this time, the packet signal termination device is in a duplex operation.

  Next, an actual operation example of the present invention will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

  Here, an example of operation when the traffic monitoring cycle is set to 10 seconds is shown.

  It is assumed that both the active packet signal termination device 30 and the standby packet signal termination device 40 are in the power-on state, that is, the duplex operation state, at the time of starting the first traffic monitoring process of the control device 20.

  When the control device 20 transmits the traffic collection request 301 to the active packet signal termination device 30 at the timing of FIG. 4A, the active package signal termination device 30 that has received the traffic collection request 301 receives the traffic. The collection response 302 is returned to the control device 20. This series of traffic monitoring processing is repeated here at a cycle of 10 seconds.

  In the first traffic monitoring process, the packet signals 451 and 452 are transmitted and received between the active packet signal terminating device 30 and the opposite network 100, and there is traffic. Therefore, the traffic collection response 302 indicates the presence of traffic. The control device 20 determines from the traffic collection response 302 that there is traffic (traffic ≠ “0”) (step 204 in FIG. 2).

  In this case, since the backup packet signal termination device 40 is in the power-on state, the control device 20 maintains the previous state without performing power on / off control of the backup packet signal termination device 40 ( Step 209 and step 211 in FIG.

  Next, in the traffic monitoring process at the timing of FIG. 4B, since there is no packet signal transmission / reception between the active packet signal termination device 30 and the opposite network 100, traffic collection from the active packet signal termination device 30 is performed. Response 302 does not indicate the presence of traffic.

  The control device 20 determines from the traffic collection response 302 that there is no traffic (traffic = “0”) (step 204 in FIG. 2), and the standby packet signal termination device 40 is in a power-on state. A power-off request 401 is transmitted to the backup packet signal termination device 30 (step 205 and step 208 in FIG. 2). At this time, the packet signal termination device is in a single operation.

  In the traffic monitoring process at the timing of FIG. 4C, the packet signals 453, 454, and 455 are transmitted and received between the active packet signal terminating device 30 and the opposite network 100, and traffic exists. The presence of traffic will be indicated.

  The control device 20 determines from the traffic collection response 302 that there is traffic (traffic ≠ “0”) (step 204 in FIG. 2), and turns off the backup packet signal termination device 30 in the previous processing. Therefore, the power-on request 402 is transmitted to the backup packet signal termination device 30 (steps 209 and 210 in FIG. 2). At this time, the packet signal termination device is in a duplex operation.

  As described above, in the packet switch 10 of this embodiment, when there is no traffic in the active packet signal termination device 20, the power consumption of the standby packet signal termination device 30 is turned off to reduce power consumption. Can do. Further, when the standby packet signal termination device 30 is powered off, it means that there is no traffic in the active packet termination device 20, so that even if the active packet termination device 20 fails, the packet Service quality degradation such as signal loss does not occur.

  In the above embodiment, the case has been described in which the standby packet signal termination device 30 is controlled to be turned on / off depending on whether or not there is traffic in the active packet signal termination device 20. When the number (traffic amount) exceeds a certain reference, the backup packet signal termination device 30 is turned on. When the number (traffic amount) falls below the certain reference, the backup packet signal termination device 30 is turned off. By controlling in this way, the same power consumption reduction effect as described above can be obtained.

  In the present embodiment, as a measure for reducing power consumption, the case where the power supply of the standby packet signal termination device 30 is turned off has been described. However, the traffic of the active packet signal termination device 20 is not turned on / off. It is also possible to control so as to return to the so-called power saving mode (standby mode) when there is no traffic, and return when there is traffic. Such control can also be realized by the same processing as described above of the control device 20.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments. It goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the characteristic structure of the packet switch by the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the traffic monitoring control in the packet switch by the Example of this invention. It is a sequence chart explaining the traffic monitoring control in the packet switch by the Example of this invention. It is a sequence chart which shows the example of an actual operation | movement in the packet switch by the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Packet switch 20: Controller 30: Active packet signal terminator 40: Backup packet signal terminator 50: Power control program 100: Opposite network

Claims (10)

A packet switch comprising a packet signal termination device having a duplex configuration of an active system and a standby system,
Periodically monitoring the presence / absence of a packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, and based on the presence / absence of the packet signal, control means for controlling the power of the standby packet signal terminator ,
Said control means, said working system when the packet signal termination device there is no packet signal transmitted and received, packet switch according to claim to Rukoto and turned off the power supply of the standby system packet signal termination device.   2. The packet switch according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the power of the backup packet signal termination device when there is a packet signal transmitted and received by the active packet signal termination device. .   The control means periodically transmits a traffic collection request to the active packet signal terminator,
  3. The method according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not there is a packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal termination device based on a traffic collection response from the active packet signal termination device. Packet switch.   The control means includes
  When there is a packet signal to be transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the power status of the standby packet signal terminator is determined. If the power is off, the power is turned on; if the power is off, the current status Hold
  When there is no packet signal to be transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the power status of the standby packet signal terminator is determined. If the power is on, the power is turned off, and if the power is on, the current status 2. The packet switch according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to hold the packet.   When there is no packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal termination device, the control means sets the power supply of the standby packet signal termination device to a standby mode state,
  2. The packet switch according to claim 1, wherein when there is a packet signal to be transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the power of the standby packet signal terminator is restored from the standby mode state.   A power control program that is executed on a packet switch having a packet signal termination device having a duplex configuration of an active system and a standby system, and performs power control of the standby packet signal termination device,
  Periodically monitoring the presence or absence of a packet signal transmitted and received by the active packet signal termination device;
  Based on the presence or absence of the packet signal, having a control function to control the power supply of the standby packet signal termination device,
  The power control program for a packet signal terminating device, wherein the control function turns off the power of the standby packet signal terminating device when there is no packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminating device. 7. The control function according to claim 6, wherein when the packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator exists , the control function executes a function of turning on the standby packet signal terminator. A power supply control program for the packet signal terminator as described.   A function for the control function to periodically transmit a traffic collection request to the active packet signal termination device;
  7. The function according to claim 6, further comprising: determining whether or not there is a packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal termination device based on a traffic collection response from the active packet signal termination device. The power control program for the packet signal termination device according to claim 7.   When there is a packet signal transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the control function determines the power state of the standby packet signal terminator and turns it on when the power is off, and turns off the power. If so, the function to hold the state,
  When there is no packet signal to be transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the power status of the standby packet signal terminator is determined. If the power is on, the power is turned off, and if the power is on, the current status 7. The power control program for a packet signal termination device according to claim 6, wherein a function for holding the packet is executed.   When there is no packet signal transmitted and received by the active packet signal termination device, the control function sets the standby packet signal termination device to a standby mode state,
  7. The packet according to claim 6, wherein when there is a packet signal to be transmitted / received by the active packet signal terminator, the function of returning the power of the standby packet signal terminator from the standby mode state is executed. A power control program for signal termination equipment.

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