JP5022159B2 - Interface device, communication device, communication system, communication control method, and communication control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an interface device, a communication device, a communication system, a communication control method, and a communication control program, and in particular, an interface device, a communication device, and a communication device that can discard data on a conduction path when a data transmission failure occurs. The present invention relates to a communication system, a communication control method, and a communication control program.

  Each component constituting the packet conduction path has a buffer and a memory that are used when the packet is conducted. These are indispensable for smoothly conducting the packet conduction.

  However, if packet continuity is delayed for some reason, packet data stays in the buffer or memory. Then, when packet continuity is resumed, old packet data staying in the buffer or memory will flow out at once. The old packet data becomes unnecessary data for the receiving side. For this reason, as a countermeasure for avoiding the above-described problems, there is a method of resetting the buffer and memory of each component and erasing packet data staying in the buffer and memory.

  However, the above-described method needs to perform reset processing for each component. Further, the reset processing method and procedure are different for each component, and there are components that do not have a reset processing function. For this reason, in order to delete the staying packet data of each component, a very complicated process is required. In addition, when the packet continuity is resumed, the reset process is cancelled. Therefore, when the packet continuity is resumed, a very complicated procedure is required.

  In addition, packet data with different transmission destinations may exist in a buffer or memory of a higher-level component that constitutes a packet conduction path. In this case, the packet data stays in the buffer and memory of the upper component due to the blockage of the packet conduction path to the specific destination. However, if the packet data staying in the buffer or memory is deleted, the packet data to other destinations will be deleted at the same time, and the packet data unrelated to the packet data causing the blockage will be affected. It will reach.

  For this reason, it is considered necessary to develop a method capable of efficiently discarding packet data on the packet conduction path when packet conduction is delayed.

  In addition, as a technical document filed prior to the present invention, there is a document that discloses a technique that enables a node to switch to a return path and a backup path and maintain transfer when a failure occurs (for example, a patent document) 1).

In addition, there is a document that discloses a technique for discarding a packet in a loopback port of a packet communication device (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-224586 A JP 2006-25354 A

  Note that the above Patent Document 1 discloses that a node switches to a return path when a failure occurs. However, in the above-mentioned patent document 1, in order to maintain the transfer, it is switched to the return path, and in order to discard the data, it is not switched to the return path.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for discarding a packet in a loopback port of a packet communication device. However, in Patent Document 2, a packet is guided to a loopback port using an IP address and the packet is discarded, and the packet is not discarded using a hardware configuration.

  For this reason, the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not need to describe anything about discarding the data of the conduction path using the test loopback route used for confirming the normality of the data conduction path. There is no suggestion.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an interface device, a communication device, a communication system, a communication control method, and a communication control that are capable of efficiently discarding data on a conduction path, which is the above-described problem. The purpose is to provide a program.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following features.

<Interface device>
An interface apparatus according to the present invention is an interface apparatus having a test loopback route used for confirming normality of a data conduction path,
In the event of a data transmission failure, it has control means for controlling the transmission unit to transmit data to the reception unit via the test loopback route and to discard the data received by the reception unit. Features.

<Communication device>
Further, the communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus having a test loopback route used for confirming the normality of the data conduction path,
In the event of a data transmission failure, it has control means for controlling the transmission unit to transmit data to the reception unit via the test loopback route and to discard the data received by the reception unit. Features.

<Communication system>
A communication system according to the present invention is a communication system having a first communication device and a second communication device,
The first communication device is:
A test loopback route used to verify the normality of the data conduction path;
When a data transmission failure occurs with the second communication device, the data of the transmission unit is transmitted to the reception unit via the test loopback route, and the data received by the reception unit is discarded. Control means for controlling.

<Communication control method>
Further, the communication control method according to the present invention includes:
A communication control method performed using a test loopback route used to check the normality of a data conduction path,
Having a control step of controlling to transmit the data of the transmission unit to the reception unit via the test loopback route and discard the data received by the reception unit when a data transmission failure occurs. Features.

<Communication control program>
The communication control program according to the present invention is
A communication control program that uses a test loopback route used to check the normality of the data conduction path,
When a data transmission failure occurs, a control process for controlling the computer to transmit the data of the transmission unit to the reception unit via the test loopback route and discard the data received by the reception unit. It is made to perform.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently discard the data of the conduction path.

  First, the outline of the communication system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The communication system in this embodiment is a communication system which has a 1st communication apparatus (1) and a 2nd communication apparatus (2), as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first communication device (1) has a test loopback route (102) used for confirming the normality of the data conduction path, and the second communication device ( When a data transmission failure occurs with 2), the data of the transmission unit (transmission buffer: equivalent to 101) is transmitted to the reception unit (equivalent to reception buffer: 103) via the test loopback route (102). The receiving unit (103) is controlled to discard the data received.

  Thereby, the communication system in the present embodiment can efficiently discard the data of the conduction path. Hereinafter, the communication system of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
<System configuration of communication system>
First, the system configuration of the communication system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The communication system in the present embodiment is configured by connecting a first communication device (1) and a second communication device (2) via a network (3). The network (3) is not particularly limited as long as information communication is possible between the first communication device (1) and the second communication device (2). Any communication form can be applied.

<Communication device: Internal structure of 1 and 2>
Next, the internal configuration of the first communication device (1) and the second communication device (2) will be described with reference to FIG. Since the internal configurations of the first communication device (1) and the second communication device (2) are configured in the same manner, in the following description, the internal configuration of the first communication device (1) is described. explain. In the following description, the second communication device (2) will be described as a counter device.

  The first communication device (1) has an external I / F unit (100), a first routine unit (200), a second routing unit (300), and a signal processing unit (400). And configure. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 2, it is also possible to provide a configuration in which third to nth (n is an arbitrary integer) routing units are provided as upper components of the second routing unit (300). It is.

<Second routing unit: 300>
The second routing unit (300) is a higher-order component of the first routing unit (200), transmits packet data to the first routing unit (200), and transmits packets from the first routing unit (200). Or receive data. The second routing unit (300) of the present embodiment includes a transmission buffer (301) and a reception buffer (302).

  The transmission buffer (301) is for transmitting packet data to the first routing unit (200). The reception buffer (302) is for holding packet data received from the first routing unit (200).

<First routing unit: 200>
The first routing unit (200) distributes the packet data received from the second routing unit (300) to the external I / F unit (100) or the signal processing unit (400). The first routing unit (200) of the present embodiment includes a first transmission buffer (201), a selector (202), a second transmission buffer (203), a third transmission buffer (204), And a reception buffer (205).

  The first transmission buffer (201) holds packet data received from the second routing unit (300) and transmits it to the selector (202). The selector (202) distributes the packet data received from the first transmission buffer (201) to the second transmission buffer (203) or the third transmission buffer (204). The second transmission buffer (203) is for holding the packet data received from the selector (202) and transmitting it to the external I / F unit (100). The third transmission buffer (204) holds packet data received from the selector (202) and transmits it to the signal processing unit (400). The reception buffer (205) is for holding packet data received from the external I / F unit (100). The first routing unit (200) in the present embodiment analyzes the packet data held in the reception buffer (205) and distributes the packet data to the second routing unit (300) or the signal processing unit (400). become.

<Signal processing unit: 400>
The signal processing unit (400) performs signal processing on the packet data received from the first routing unit (200). The signal processing unit (400) in the present embodiment includes a transmission buffer (401). The transmission buffer (401) holds packet data received from the first routing unit (200). Note that the signal processing unit (400) in the present embodiment performs signal processing on the packet data held in the transmission buffer (401). Note that the processing performed by the signal processing unit (400) is not particularly limited, and any signal processing can be performed.

<External I / F section: 100>
The external I / F unit (100) is an interface serving as a packet transmission end to the opposite device (2). The external I / F unit (100) in this embodiment includes a transmission buffer (101), a test loopback route (102), and a reception buffer (103).

  The transmission buffer (101) is for holding the packet data received from the first routing unit (200) and transmitting it to the opposite device (2). The reception buffer (103) is for holding packet data received from the opposite device (2) and transmitting it to the first routing unit (200). The test loopback route (102) is for guiding the packet data transmitted from the transmission buffer (101) to the reception buffer (103). The original purpose of use of the test loopback route (102) is to confirm the normality of the packet conduction path of the first communication device (1). In the present embodiment, the existing test loopback route (102) is used, the packet data transmitted from the transmission buffer (101) is guided to the reception buffer (103), and the packet data is discarded. .

<Processing in First Communication Device: 1>
Next, the processing operation in the first communication device (1) of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The second routing unit (300) sends the packet data stored in the transmission buffer (301) to the first routing unit (200), and the first transmission buffer (201) of the first routing unit (200). ).

  The first routing unit (200) transmits the packet data stored in the first transmission buffer (201) to the selector (202). Based on the packet data received from the first transmission buffer (201), the selector (202) is the packet data addressed to the opposite device (2) or the packet addressed to the signal processing unit (400). If the packet data is addressed to the opposite device (2), it is stored in the second transmission buffer (203). In the case of packet data addressed to the signal processing unit (400), it is stored in the third transmission buffer (204).

  The first routing unit (200) sends the packet data stored in the second transmission buffer (203) to the external I / F unit (100), and from the external I / F unit (100) to the opposite device (2 ) To send packet data. The first routing unit (200) sends the packet data stored in the third transmission buffer (204) to the signal processing unit (400), and the signal processing unit (400) performs signal processing of the packet data. To do.

  Here, a processing operation when the link between the first communication device (1) and the opposite device (2) is disconnected will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the external I / F unit (100) detects a link break with the opposite device (2), the link break information (information indicating that the link break has been detected) is sent to a processor (not shown), which is a higher-level component. Notice. When the processor receives the link disconnection information, the processor stops the transmission of the packet data addressed to the opposite device (2) having the link disconnection based on the link disconnection information. The first communication device (1) retains packet data in each transmission buffer (101, 203, 201, 301) until the transmission stop process described above is performed.

  First, the external I / F unit (100) retains packet data in the transmission buffer (101) of the external I / F unit (100) when detecting a link break with the opposite device (2). When the accumulated packet data exceeds the buffer capacity, the transmission buffer (101) notifies the second transmission buffer (203) of the first routing unit (101) the back pressure signal A “ BP signal A ”is output. When receiving the “BP signal A”, the second transmission buffer (203) stops data transmission to the transmission buffer (101) of the external I / F unit (100), and the second transmission buffer (203) ) Packet data. Then, the second transmission buffer (203) outputs “BP signal B” to the selector (202) when the staying packet data exceeds the buffer capacity. When the selector (202) receives the “BP signal B”, the selector (202) outputs the “BP signal C” to the first transmission buffer (201). When receiving the “BP signal C”, the first transmission buffer (201) stops data transmission to the selector (202) and retains the packet data in the first transmission buffer (201). The first transmission buffer (201) outputs “BP signal D” to the transmission buffer (301) of the second routing unit (300) when the staying packet data exceeds the buffer capacity. . When the transmission buffer (301) receives the “BP signal D”, the transmission buffer (301) stops data transmission to the first transmission buffer (201) of the first routing unit (200) and sends a packet to the transmission buffer (301). Retain data. In this way, when the first communication device (1) detects a link break with the opposite device (2), the first communication device (1) retains the packet data in each transmission buffer (101, 203, 201, 301). Become.

  In the case of the control method shown in FIG. 3 described above, when the link with the opposite device (2) is re-established, the packet data staying in each transmission buffer (101, 203, 201, 301) flows all at once. Will be put out. However, if a long time is required until the link is re-established, the staying packet data becomes packet data that is unnecessary for the opposite device (2). The first transmission buffer (201) of the first routing unit (200) and the transmission buffer (301) of the second routing unit (300) also retain packet data addressed to the signal processing unit (400). As a result, the conduction of the packet addressed to the signal processing unit (400) is interrupted.

  For this reason, various improvements have been attempted to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result of extensive research, as shown in FIG. 2, the data in the transmission buffer (101) is converted into the existing test loopback route. It has been found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by transmitting to the reception buffer (103) via (102) and discarding the data in the reception buffer (103). This makes it possible to efficiently discard the conduction path data using the existing test loopback route (102). Hereinafter, the control method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the external I / F unit (100) sets the reception buffer (103) to a reset state when detecting a link break. Next, the external I / F unit (100) uses the test loopback route (102), and the packet data staying in the transmission buffer (101) is received via the test loopback route (102) into the reception buffer (103). ). Since the reception buffer (103) is set to the reset state, the packet data is discarded without storing the packet data.

  When the external I / F unit (100) detects that the link has been re-established, the external I / F unit (100) cancels the use of the test loopback route (102) and cancels the reset state of the reception buffer (103).

  Also, the external I / F unit (100) cancels the use of the test loopback route (102) when a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission buffer (103) was set to the reset state, and the reception buffer (103 ) Reset state is released. Note that the release timing of the test loopback route (102) and the release timing of the reset state of the reception buffer (103) are not limited to the above-described methods, and the test loopback route (102) can be released at any timing. It is possible to construct so as to cancel the use or cancel the reset state of the reception buffer (103).

  Thus, according to the communication system of the present embodiment, when a link break occurs, the existing test loopback route (102) of the external I / F unit (100) serving as a packet transmission end is used. Packet data sent from the transmission side of the first communication device (1) to the opposite device (2) is looped back to the reception side of the first communication device (1). Then, the receiving side of the first communication device (1) is controlled to discard the packet data. As a result, it becomes possible to easily discard the packet data. As a result, the operation until the packet data is discarded can be greatly simplified, and the burden on the operating system can be reduced.

  Further, the packet data discarding process can be performed centrally at the packet transmission end of the first communication device (1). As a result, it is possible to prevent erroneous packet data discard and packet data discard omission.

  In addition, since the link breakage that occurs in the external I / F unit (100) serving as the packet transmission end is not affected by the upper components (200, 300, 400), the packet conduction path is shared by a plurality of components. It becomes possible. As a result, the number of signal bus connections can be reduced.

  Further, even when a component not equipped with a packet data discarding function is present in the packet conduction path, the packet data discarding process can be performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to improve the versatility of the component which can be used on a conduction path.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  In the first embodiment, when a data transmission failure such as a link disconnection occurs, the reception buffer (103) is set to the reset state, and the packet data is discarded without storing the packet data in the reception buffer (103). Controlled to do.

  In the second embodiment, an identifier that can identify the packet transmission destination and the transmission source is added to the packet data. Then, the packet data received by the reception buffer (205) of the first routing unit (200) is analyzed, and if the packet data is not addressed to the communication device (1), control is performed so as to discard the packet data. As a result, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to use the existing test loopback route (102) and efficiently discard the packet data of the conduction path. Hereinafter, the communication system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in this embodiment, an identifier is assigned to packet data. Specifically, packet transmission source and destination information is added to the internal header of the packet data. The first routing unit (200) confirms the packet transmission source and destination information in the internal header of the packet data, and discards the packet data other than those addressed to the first communication device (1).

<Processing in First Communication Device: 1>
Next, the processing operation in the first communication device (1) of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the external I / F unit (100) detects a link disconnection, the external I / F unit (100) uses the test loopback route (102) and stays in the transmission buffer (101). Data is transmitted to the receive buffer (103) via the test loopback route (102). The reception buffer (103) stores the packet data, and then transmits the packet data to the reception buffer (205) of the first routing unit (200).

  The first routing unit (200) confirms the packet transmission source and destination information in the internal header of the packet data received by the reception buffer (205). If the first routing unit (200) determines that the packet destination of the internal header is addressed to the opposite device (2) and is not addressed to the first communication device (1), the first routing unit (200) discards the packet data.

  When the external I / F unit (100) detects that the link is re-established, the external I / F unit (100) cancels the use of the test loopback route (102). The external I / F unit (100) cancels the use of the test loopback route (102) when a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission buffer (103) was set to the reset state. Note that the timing for canceling the use of the test loopback route (102) is not limited to the above-described method, and the test loopback route (102) can be configured to be canceled at any timing. is there.

  Thus, in the second embodiment, an identifier that can identify the transmission destination and transmission source of packet data is added to the packet data. When the link breakage occurs, the existing test loopback route (102) of the external I / F unit (100) serving as a packet transmission end is used to face the transmission side of the first communication device (1). The packet data sent to the device (2) is looped back to the receiving side of the first communication device (1). Then, the receiving side of the first communication device (1) analyzes the packet data, and if the destination of the packet data is not addressed to the first communication device (1), control is performed so that the packet data is discarded. To do.

  The packet data transmitted from the first communication device (1) to the opposite device (2) is appended with the information of the opposite device (2) as the transmission destination identifier and the information of the first communication device (1) as the transmission source identifier. Will do. The packet data is looped back to the reception buffer (205) of the first communication device (1) using the existing test loopback route (102). When the packet data is analyzed, the first communication device (1) determines that the packet data is not addressed to itself (1) and discards the packet data. As a result, similar to the first embodiment, the existing test loopback route (102) can be used to easily perform the packet data discarding process.

  The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment alone. Those skilled in the art will not be able to deviate from the gist of the present invention. It is possible to construct a form in which various changes are made by making corrections and substitutions.

  In addition, the control operation in each device configuring the communication system in the present embodiment described above can be executed using hardware, software, or a composite configuration of both.

  In the case of executing processing using software, it is possible to install and execute a program in which a processing sequence is recorded in a memory in a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Alternatively, the program can be installed and executed on a general-purpose computer capable of executing various processes.

  For example, the program can be recorded in advance on a hard disk or a ROM (Read Only Memory) as a recording medium. Alternatively, the program can be stored (recorded) temporarily or permanently in a removable recording medium. Such a removable recording medium can be provided as so-called package software. The removable recording medium includes a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), an MO (Magneto optical) disk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like.

  The program is installed in the computer from the removable recording medium as described above. In addition, it is wirelessly transferred from the download site to the computer. In addition, it is transferred to the computer via a network by wire.

  In addition, the communication system in the present embodiment is not only executed in time series according to the processing operation described in the above embodiment, but also the processing capability of the apparatus that executes the processing, or in parallel or individually as required. It is also possible to build to run on In addition, the communication system according to the present embodiment can be constructed so as to have a logical set configuration of a plurality of devices or a configuration in which devices of each configuration exist in the same casing.

  The interface device, the communication device, the communication system, the communication control method, and the communication control program according to the present invention can be applied to a system that discards data on a conduction path.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration example of the communication system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of the communication apparatus (1, 2) which comprises the communication system of this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where packet data is retained in each transmission buffer (101, 203, 201, 301).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st communication apparatus 2 2nd communication apparatus (opposite apparatus)
3 network 100 external I / F unit 101 transmission buffer 102 test loopback route 103 reception buffer 200 first routing unit 201 first transmission buffer 202 selector 203 second transmission buffer 204 third transmission buffer 205 reception buffer 300 second 2 routing unit 301 transmission buffer 302 reception buffer 400 signal processing unit 401 transmission buffer

Claims (8)

An interface device having a test loopback route used to confirm the normality of a data conduction path,
In the event of a data transmission failure, it has control means for controlling the transmission unit to transmit data to the reception unit via the test loopback route and to discard the data received by the reception unit. A featured interface device. The control means includes
2. The interface according to claim 1, wherein when a data transmission failure occurs, the receiving unit is set to a reset state, and control is performed to discard the data without storing the data in the receiving unit. apparatus. A communication device having a test loopback route used to confirm the normality of a data conduction path,
In the event of a data transmission failure, it has control means for controlling the transmission unit to transmit data to the reception unit via the test loopback route and to discard the data received by the reception unit. A communication device. The control means includes
4. The communication according to claim 3, wherein when a data transmission failure occurs, the receiving unit is set to a reset state, and control is performed to discard the data without storing the data in the receiving unit. apparatus. The control means includes
5. The communication device according to claim 3, wherein the data received by the receiving unit is analyzed, and control is performed to discard the data when the data is not addressed to the communication device. 6. A communication system having a first communication device and a second communication device,
The first communication device is:
A test loopback route used to verify the normality of the data conduction path;
When a data transmission failure occurs with the second communication device, the data of the transmission unit is transmitted to the reception unit via the test loopback route, and the data received by the reception unit is discarded. And a control means for controlling the communication system. A communication control method performed using a test loopback route used to check the normality of a data conduction path,
Having a control step of controlling to transmit the data of the transmission unit to the reception unit via the test loopback route and discard the data received by the reception unit when a data transmission failure occurs. A communication control method. A communication control program that uses a test loopback route used to check the normality of the data conduction path,
When a data transmission failure occurs, a control process for controlling the computer to transmit the data of the transmission unit to the reception unit via the test loopback route and discard the data received by the reception unit. A communication control program that is executed.

Images