JP5298992B2 - Information processing system, subordinate apparatus in information processing system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the polling cycle furthermore. <P>SOLUTION: A monitoring device transmits a response request to a plurality of subordinate devices by multicast, and receives a response including the device identifiers and the load information from the plurality of subordinate devices. The monitoring device also updates the load information table of the plurality of subordinate devices based on the response thus received. With reference to the load information table of the monitoring device, a processing distributor distributes the information to be processed according to the load to a subordinate device of light load. The subordinate device stores the device identifiers for identifying the subordinate devices including the device. Furthermore, the subordinate device receives a request from the monitoring device, monitors the response including the device identifiers of the other subordinate devices and the load information transmitted from the other subordinate devices to the monitoring device over a bus, and transmits a response including the device identifier of the device and the load information to the monitoring device over a bus when a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device which must respond just before the device is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The information processing system monitoring apparatus carries out information processing by sharing the processing in the subordinate apparatus, distribution under device that put in the information processing system, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an information processing system in which a monitoring device monitors a plurality of subordinate devices and performs information processing by sharing processing with each subordinate device. In this information processing system, each subordinate apparatus monitors the load of other subordinate apparatuses, thereby effectively utilizing the resources of the subordinate apparatuses.

  Hereinafter, a conventional information processing system will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20. 19 and 20 are diagrams for explaining the related art.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the monitoring device is connected to the subordinate device 1, the subordinate device 2,... The monitoring device also includes a device identifier storage unit, a subordinate device state table, a request transmission unit, a response reception unit, and a table update unit. The device identifier storage unit stores a device identifier for identifying each subordinate device. The subordinate apparatus state table stores apparatus state information and load information in association with the apparatus identifier.

  The request transmission unit of the monitoring device transmits a request signal to each subordinate device. The response receiving unit of the monitoring device receives a response signal from each subordinate device. The table updating unit acquires the device identifier, the device state information, and the load information from the response signal received by the response receiving unit, and stores the device state information stored in the subordinate device state table in association with the acquired device identifier. The load information is updated to the acquired device status information and load information.

  In addition, the subordinate apparatuses 1 to n have a self apparatus state table, a request reception unit, a response transmission unit, and an information reception unit. The own device state table stores the current device state information and load information of the own device. The request receiving unit receives a request signal from the monitoring device. When the request signal is received by the request reception unit, the response transmission unit acquires the current device state information and load information of the own device from the own device state table, and obtains the device identifier, device state information, and load information of the own device. The included response signal is transmitted to the monitoring device. The information receiving unit receives information to be processed from the processing distribution device and executes information processing.

  The flow of signals exchanged between the monitoring apparatus and each subordinate apparatus will be described. The monitoring apparatus transmits a request signal to the subordinate apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. The subordinate apparatus 1 that has received the request signal transmits a response signal to the monitoring apparatus. Thereafter, the monitoring apparatus transmits a request signal to the subordinate apparatus 2 when the post-transmission elapsed time after transmitting the request signal to the subordinate apparatus 1 reaches a preset time.

  In this way, the monitoring device transmits a request signal to a subordinate device having a device identifier one larger than that of the subordinate device to which the previous request signal is transmitted after receiving a response signal to the previous request signal. , Avoiding collision of response signals on the bus. Then, the processing distribution device that distributes information processing to the subordinate device refers to the subordinate device state table and distributes information processing to the subordinate device with the least load, thereby effectively utilizing the resources of the subordinate device.

  There is also a monitoring method in which a request signal is transmitted from the monitoring device to all the subordinate devices by multicast to monitor the load of each subordinate device (see Patent Document 1). Specifically, the monitoring device transmits a request signal by multicast to all subordinate devices. Each subordinate apparatus transmits a response signal to the monitoring apparatus when the elapsed time after receiving the request signal reaches a set time set according to the apparatus identifier of each subordinate apparatus. For example, the subordinate apparatus 1 transmits a response signal to the monitoring apparatus immediately after receiving the request signal, and the subordinate apparatus 2 transmits the response signal to the monitoring apparatus one second after receiving the request signal.

JP-A-63-233456

  By the way, in recent years, the operation speed of the CPUs of the subordinate apparatuses has been improved, and the monitoring apparatus receives load information of all the subordinate apparatuses in order to allocate an amount of processing corresponding to the CPU operation speed to each subordinate apparatus. It is desired to shorten the polling cycle. However, the conventional monitoring device has a problem that the polling cycle cannot be shortened. That is, the conventional monitoring apparatus that transmits a request signal by unicast cannot reduce the polling cycle because the request signal transmission interval for transmitting the request signal is constant. Also, the conventional monitoring apparatus that transmits a request signal by multicast cannot shorten the polling cycle because the response signal reception interval for receiving the response signal is constant.

  If the polling cycle is long, even if there is a subordinate apparatus with a small load, it takes a long time to detect the subordinate apparatus. Therefore, in the conventional information processing system, even if the operating speed of the CPU of the subordinate apparatus is improved, the resources of the subordinate apparatus cannot be effectively used, and as a result, the system performance may not be improved.

Therefore, the disclosed technology has been made to solve the problems in the conventional technology, distribution under device that put the polling period more capable information processing system be shortened, the information processing system, you and The purpose is to provide a program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the disclosed apparatus receives a request transmitted from the monitoring apparatus by multicast to a plurality of subordinate apparatuses connected to each other via a bus. A monitoring unit that monitors a response including a device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted from the other subordinate device to the monitoring device via the bus; A response transmission unit configured to transmit a response including the device identifier of the own device and load information to the monitoring device via the bus when a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device to be responded first is detected. .

  According to the disclosed apparatus, it is possible to further shorten the polling cycle.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of an overview of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the information processing system. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the subordinate apparatus state table. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the device identifier storage unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the own apparatus state table. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the monitoring apparatus. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the subordinate apparatus. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the subordinate apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information processing system. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a response signal. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the subordinate apparatus. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of response timing determination processing. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the third embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a computer that executes a response transmission program. FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the prior art. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the related art.

Hereinafter, an information processing system, under the information processing system device, illustrating an embodiment of a contact and the program. An information processing system having a monitoring device and a subordinate device described below is, for example, a radio base station. The subordinate apparatus is, for example, a board mounted in a casing as a radio base station, and performs call processing.

[Outline of Information Processing System According to Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of an overview of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. An information processing system according to a first embodiment includes a plurality of subordinate devices connected in a communicable state via a bus, a monitoring device that monitors the load of each subordinate device, and a processing distribution device that distributes information processing to each subordinate device Have Under such a configuration, the information processing system according to the first embodiment is summarized to perform information processing by distributing processing to a subordinate apparatus having the smallest load among the subordinate apparatuses. The information processing system according to the first embodiment particularly shortens the polling cycle. Further, the information processing system according to the first embodiment aims to effectively utilize the resources of the subordinate apparatus by shortening the polling cycle.

  That is, the monitoring device transmits a request for responding load information to all subordinate devices by multicast. Then, the monitoring device receives the response from the subordinate device, and updates the subordinate device state table 11 that stores the load information in association with the device identifier.

  When each subordinate apparatus receives a request from the monitoring apparatus, each subordinate apparatus monitors a response including the device identifier and load information of the other subordinate apparatus transmitted from the other subordinate apparatus to the monitoring apparatus via the bus. When each subordinate apparatus detects a response including the apparatus identifier of the subordinate apparatus that should respond one earlier than the own apparatus, the subordinate apparatus monitors the response including the apparatus identifier and load information of the own apparatus via the bus. Send to.

  For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, when the subordinate apparatus 2 detects a response transmitted from the subordinate apparatus 1 to the monitoring apparatus, the subordinate apparatus 2 transmits a response including the apparatus identifier and load information of the own apparatus to the monitoring apparatus. After that, when a response from a subordinate device whose device identifier is the previous one is detected in order from a subordinate device having a smaller device identifier such as subordinate devices 3, 4, 5,..., A response including the device identifier of the own device is received. Send to the monitoring device.

  The processing distribution device refers to the subordinate device state table 11 and distributes high information processing according to the lightness of the load from the subordinate device with the smallest load, thereby making the information processing load of each subordinate device the same level. Distribute to

  For this reason, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to shorten the polling cycle. That is, according to the first embodiment, since the response waiting time from when the monitoring device receives the previous response signal until the next response signal is received can be omitted, the polling cycle is shortened compared to the conventional monitoring device. Is possible. The information processing system according to the first embodiment can effectively utilize the resources of the subordinate apparatus by shortening the polling cycle.

[Configuration of information processing system]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the information processing system.

(Monitoring device)
As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring apparatus includes a subordinate apparatus state table 11, a request transmission unit 12, a response reception unit 13, and a table update unit 14.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the subordinate apparatus state table 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the subordinate apparatus state table 11 stores apparatus state information and load information in association with the apparatus identifier. Here, the device identifier identifies a plurality of subordinate devices connected in a communicable state via the bus, and each subordinate device responds with device status information and load information in response to a request from the monitoring device. This information indicates the order to be performed. For example, the device identifier is a device ID assigned to each subordinate device according to the mounting position or physical address. The device state information is information indicating which device state the subordinate device is in among the active, standby, lock, and alarm states. The load information is information including a CPU usage rate, a buffer usage rate, a connection amount indicating the number of processes being executed by the subordinate apparatus, and the like.

  The request transmission unit 12 transmits a request signal by multicast to all subordinate apparatuses. Specifically, when driving of the information processing system starts, the request transmission unit 12 sends a request signal including device identifiers of all subordinate devices as a destination on the bus. In addition, when the request transmission unit 12 confirms that the response reception unit 13 has received the response signal transmitted from the subordinate device having the largest device identifier, the request transmission unit 12 buses request signals including the device identifiers of all subordinate devices as destinations. Run over.

  The response receiving unit 13 receives a response signal from the subordinate apparatus. Specifically, the response receiving unit 13 monitors a signal flowing on the bus, and receives the signal when confirming that the logical address of the own device is included in the signal as a destination. For example, the response receiving unit 13 receives a response signal including a device identifier, device state information, and load information of a transmission-source subordinate device from the subordinate device.

  The table updating unit 14 acquires the device identifier and the device state information from the response signal received by the response receiving unit 13, and stores the device state information stored in the subordinate device state table 11 in association with the acquired device identifier. Update the acquired device status information. Further, the table update unit 14 acquires the load information of the subordinate apparatus as the transmission source from the response signal, and acquires the load information stored in the subordinate apparatus state table 11 in association with the apparatus identifier acquired from the response signal. Update to information.

  Note that when the monitoring device detects a change in the device state in the subordinate device, the monitoring device may confirm the change. Specifically, the table update unit 14 compares the apparatus state information stored in the subordinate apparatus state table 11 in association with the apparatus identifier acquired from the response signal with the acquired apparatus state information. Here, when the device status information acquired from the response signal does not match the device status information stored in the subordinate device status table 11, the table update unit 14 issues an interrupt notification to the CPU. When receiving the interrupt notification, the CPU requests the request transmission unit 12 to confirm the change in the apparatus state.

  After receiving the confirmation request, the request transmission unit 12 confirms that the response reception unit 13 has received the response signal transmitted from the subordinate apparatus having the largest apparatus identifier. On the other hand, a request signal for confirmation is transmitted. That is, the request transmission unit 12 sends a request signal including only the device identifier of the subordinate device whose device state information has changed as a destination on the bus. Thereafter, when the request transmission unit 12 confirms that the response reception unit 13 has received a response to the request signal for confirmation, the request transmission unit 12 transmits the request signal to all the subordinate devices by multicast.

(Subordinate equipment)
As shown in FIG. 2, the subordinate apparatus includes a device identifier storage unit 21, an own device state table 22, a request reception unit 23, a response control unit 24, a response transmission unit 25, and an information reception unit 26.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the device identifier storage unit 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the device identifier storage unit 21 stores device identifiers assigned to the respective subordinate devices. Specifically, the device identifier storage unit 21 enumerates and stores device identifiers of the subordinate devices as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the own apparatus state table 22. As shown in FIG. 5, the own apparatus state table 22 stores the current apparatus state information and load information of the own apparatus. Specifically, the own device state table 22 includes device state information indicating which device state is currently in the active, standby, lock, or alarm state, and the current CPU usage of the own device. Load information including the rate, buffer usage rate, connection amount, etc. is stored. Each information stored in the own device state table 22 is “0” before information processing by the subordinate apparatus, and is appropriately updated by a CPU mounted on the subordinate apparatus together with information processing by the subordinate apparatus. In this embodiment, all the subordinate devices are premised on the same performance. However, if the performance of each subordinate device is different, the performance ratio of each subordinate device is further stored, and the performance ratio and load information are used. The degree of processing that can be performed may be calculated and obtained.

  The request receiving unit 23 receives a request signal. Specifically, the request receiving unit 23 monitors a signal flowing on the bus, and receives the signal when confirming that the device identifier of the own device is included in the signal as a destination. For example, the request receiving unit 23 receives a request signal transmitted from the monitoring device.

  When receiving a request from the monitoring device, the response control unit 24 monitors a response including the device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted from the other subordinate device to the monitoring device via the bus. The response control unit 24 is also referred to as a monitoring unit.

  Specifically, when the request signal is received by the request receiving unit 23, the response control unit 24 has the smallest device identifier of its own device among all the device identifiers stored in the device identifier storage unit 21. It is determined whether it is an identifier. For example, the response control unit 24 of the subordinate device 1 determines that the device identifier 1 of the own device is the smallest device identifier among all the device identifiers stored in the device identifier storage unit 21. The device identifiers of the own device are assigned to the subordinate devices in advance, and the order is stored in the device identifier storage unit 21 as the device identifier.

  Each time the response control unit 24 determines that the device identifier of its own device is not the smallest device identifier, each time the response signal is detected by monitoring the signal flowing on the bus, the device identifier included in the response signal is higher than that of the own device. It is determined whether or not it is a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond first. Here, when the response control unit 24 determines that the device identifier included in the response signal is a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond one ahead of the own device, the response control unit 24 is a timing at which the own device responds. Is determined. On the other hand, when the response control unit 24 determines that the device identifier included in the response signal is a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond two or more ahead of the own device, the response control unit 24 is at a timing at which the own device does not respond. Judge that there is.

  If a specific example is given and demonstrated, the response control part 24 of the subordinate apparatus 3 will determine with the timing which an own apparatus does not respond, when the response signal containing the apparatus identifier 1 is detected. In addition, when the response control unit 24 of the subordinate apparatus 3 detects a response signal including the apparatus identifier 2, it determines that it is the timing at which the own apparatus responds.

  The response transmission unit 25 monitors a response including the device identifier of the own device and the load information via the bus when a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond one ahead of the own device is detected. Send to.

  Specifically, when the request signal is received by the request receiving unit 23, the response transmission unit 25 acquires the current device state information and load information from the own device state table 22. Thereafter, when the response control unit 24 determines that the device identifier of the own device is the smallest device identifier, the response transmission unit 25 acquires the logical address of the monitoring device as the destination, the device identifier of the own device as the transmission source, and the acquisition The response signal including the device status information and the load information is sent on the bus.

  Further, when the response control unit 24 determines that the own device responds, the response transmission unit 25 has a logical address of the monitoring device as a destination, a device identifier of the own device as a transmission source, and acquired device state information. And a response signal including load information is sent on the bus.

  The subordinate apparatus may transmit a response to the monitoring apparatus as soon as it receives a request signal for confirming a change in the apparatus state. Specifically, the response control unit 24 determines whether or not the request signal received by the request receiving unit 23 is a request signal for confirmation. For example, when the response control unit 24 receives a request signal including only the device identifier of the own device, the response control unit 24 determines that the request signal is for confirmation. If the response control unit 24 determines that the response signal is a request signal for confirmation, the response transmission unit 25 transmits a response to the request signal for confirmation to the monitoring device.

  The information receiving unit 26 receives information to be processed from the processing distribution device and executes information processing. Specifically, when receiving information to be processed as a request for information processing from the processing distribution device, the information receiving unit 26 executes the assigned information processing.

(Process distribution device)
The processing distribution device refers to the subordinate device state table 11, distributes the information processing to the subordinate devices with a small load, and distributes the information processing so that the loads of the subordinate devices are the same. Specifically, when receiving a request for information processing from a higher-level device, the processing distribution device refers to the subordinate device state table 11 and identifies the subordinate device with the least load. Then, the processing distribution device requests the requested subordinate device for the requested information processing. The processing distribution device requests the information processing requested from the host device via a communication path different from the bus through which the request signal and the response signal flow.

[Processing of information processing system]
(Monitoring device)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the monitoring apparatus. As shown in FIG. 6, when the information processing system starts to be driven (Yes at Step S101), the request transmission unit 12 transmits a request signal by multicast (Step S102).

  Then, the response receiving unit 13 receives a response signal from each subordinate apparatus (step S103), and the table updating unit 14 is stored in the subordinate apparatus state table 11 every time a response signal is received by the response receiving unit 13. The device status information and the load information are updated (step S104).

  Thereafter, when the response receiving unit 13 receives a response signal from the subordinate device having the largest device identifier (Yes at Step S105), the request transmitting unit 12 determines whether or not a change in the device state is detected (Step S106). . Here, when the change of the apparatus state is not detected (No at Step S106), the request transmission unit 12 again determines the request signal by multicast if the information processing system continues to drive (Yes at Step S108). Is transmitted (step S102).

  On the other hand, when a change in the device state is detected (Yes in step S106), the request transmission unit 12 transmits a request signal to the subordinate device whose device state has changed, and confirms the change in the device state. (Step S107). Then, the request transmission unit 12 confirms that the response reception unit 13 has received the response signal. If the information processing system continues to drive (Yes at step S108), the request transmission unit 12 transmits the request signal again by multicast. (Step S102).

(Subordinate equipment)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the subordinate apparatus. Note that the processing by the subordinate apparatus ends when the driving of the information processing system is stopped. As shown in FIG. 7, when the response control unit 24 starts driving the information processing system (Yes at Step S201) and the request receiving unit 23 receives the request signal (Yes at Step S202), the response control unit 24 uses a request signal for confirmation. It is determined whether or not there is (step S203). If it is determined that the request signal is for confirmation (Yes at Step S203), the response transmission unit 25 transmits a response to the request signal for confirmation to the monitoring device (Step S204).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the request signal is transmitted by multicast (No at Step S203), the response transmission unit 25 acquires the device state information and load information of the own device (Step S205). Following this, the response control unit 24 determines whether or not the device identifier of the device itself is the minimum device identifier (step S206).

  If it is determined that it is the minimum device identifier (Yes at Step S206), the response transmission unit 25 sends a response signal including the device identifier of the device, device state information, and load information on the bus (Step S209).

  After determining that it is not the minimum device identifier (No at Step S206), when the response control unit 24 detects a response signal (Yes at Step S207), the response control unit 24 determines whether it is a response timing (Step S208).

  If it is determined that it is time to respond (Yes at Step S208), the response transmitter 25 sends a response signal including the device identifier, device state information, and load information of the device on the bus (Step S209). ). Then, the response control unit 24 waits for reception of the request signal (No at Step S202).

[Effect of Example 1]
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the first embodiment. As described above, according to the first embodiment, the polling cycle can be shortened. That is, according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the response waiting time from when the monitoring device receives the previous response signal until the next response signal is received can be omitted. It is possible to shorten the polling cycle as compared with the device. The information processing system according to the first embodiment can effectively use the resources of the subordinate apparatus by shortening the polling cycle, and as a result, the system performance can be improved.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, since the communication speed of the request signal and the response signal does not change, the polling cycle can be shortened while maintaining the signal quality of the request signal and the response signal.

[Configuration of information processing system]
(Subordinate equipment)
If the response control unit 24 determines that the device identifier of the device itself is not the minimum device identifier, the response control unit 24 starts a timer and counts up the elapsed time after detection from “0”. Thereafter, whenever the response control unit 24 detects a response signal by monitoring a signal flowing on the bus, the response control unit 24 stops counting up the timer and returns the post-detection elapsed time counted by the timer to “0”. Subsequently, the response control unit 24 determines whether or not the device identifier included in the response signal is the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond to the device earlier than the device itself, so that the own device responds. It is determined whether or not. Here, if the response control unit 24 determines that it is not the timing at which the own device responds, the response control unit 24 restarts the timer and restarts counting up the elapsed time after detection.

  In addition, when the elapsed time after detection reaches the set time and times out, the response control unit 24 stops counting up the timer, and returns the elapsed time after detection counted by the timer to “0”. It is determined whether or not it is time for the device to respond.

  For example, every time the post-detection elapsed time reaches the set time, the response control unit 24 counts up the time-out number indicating the number of time-outs from “0” one by one. Then, the response control unit 24 determines that it is time to respond to the own device when the timeout number reaches the specified number of times set according to the device identifier of the own device. When the response control unit 24 detects the response signal, the response control unit 24 resets the timeout count to “0”. If the response control unit 24 determines that it is not the time for the device to respond, the response control unit 24 restarts the timer and resumes counting the elapsed time after detection.

  To explain with a specific example, the response control unit 24 of the subordinate apparatus 3 is set with a specified number of times “3”, and when a response signal including the apparatus identifier 1 is detected and time-out occurs three times, Is determined to be a response timing. The response control unit 24 of the subordinate apparatus 4 is set to the specified number of times “4”, and when a time-out occurs four times after detecting a response signal including the apparatus identifier 1, it is determined that it is a timing for the own apparatus to respond.

[Processing of information processing system]
(Subordinate equipment)
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the subordinate apparatus. In the following, the process flow from the determination that the device identifier of the own device is not the minimum device identifier to the determination of the response timing is different from the processing of the subordinate device according to the first embodiment. This will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when it is determined that the device identifier of the own device is not the smallest device identifier (No at Step S305, Step S306), the response control unit 24 starts a timer (No at Step S307, Step S308). Subsequently, the response control unit 24 waits until a response signal is detected or a timeout occurs (No at Step S306, Yes at Step S307, No at Step S309).

  If a response signal is detected (Yes at Step S306), the response control unit 24 stops the timer and returns the elapsed time after detection to “0” (Step S312), and responds to the response signal one by one. If the device identifier of the subordinate device is included, it is determined that it is time to respond (Yes in step S311).

  On the other hand, the response control unit 24 determines that it is not time to respond if the response signal includes device identifiers of subordinate devices that should respond more than once (No in step S311). Then, the response control unit 24 again detects a response signal or waits until a time-out occurs (No at Step S306, Yes at Step S307, No at Step S309).

  When the response control unit 24 times out (Yes at Step S309), the response control unit 24 stops the timer and returns the elapsed time after detection to “0” (Step S310). Then, if the number of time-outs has not reached the specified number, the response control unit 24 determines that it is not time to respond (No at Step S311), and restarts the timer (No at Step S307, Step S306).

  On the other hand, if the number of timeouts has reached the specified number, the response control unit 24 determines that it is time to respond (Yes in step S311).

[Effect of Example 2]
10 and 11 are diagrams for explaining the effect of the second embodiment. As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to shorten the polling cycle even when a subordinate apparatus is not mounted or there is a subordinate apparatus that cannot respond to a request.

  For example, as shown in (A) of FIG. 10, when the subordinate apparatus 2 has failed or has not been mounted, and cannot respond to the request, the subordinate apparatus 3 determines that the subordinate apparatus 1 The response is sent with a timeout of the elapsed time after detection after detecting the response. Also, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the subordinate apparatus 2 recovers from a failure, or when the subordinate apparatus 2 is mounted and becomes capable of responding, the subordinate apparatus 3 2 responses are detected and a response is transmitted.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to shorten the polling cycle even when the subordinate apparatus corresponding to all the apparatus identifiers is not mounted or there is a subordinate apparatus that cannot respond to the request.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, when the subordinate apparatus is not mounted or when there is a subordinate apparatus that cannot respond to the request, compared to a state where all the subordinate apparatuses can respond to the request, It is also possible to shorten the polling cycle.

[Configuration of information processing system]
(Subordinate equipment)
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information processing system. The subordinate apparatus further includes a load comparison unit 27 as shown in FIG.

  Each time a response is detected, the load comparison unit 27 compares the load information included in the detected response with the load information of the own device, and detects a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device. .

  Specifically, when the request reception unit 23 receives a request signal, the load comparison unit 27 turns off the load information output flag. The load information output flag is information for determining whether to send a device status information and a response signal including the load information on the bus or to send a response signal including the device status information on the bus.

  Thereafter, when a response signal is detected by the response control unit 24, the load comparison unit 27 determines whether the load information output flag is ON or OFF. Here, when the load comparison unit 27 determines that the load information output flag is OFF, the load comparison unit 27 acquires the load information from the response signal, and the acquired load information and the load stored in the own apparatus state table 22. Compare with information.

  When the load of the own device stored in the own device state table 22 is smaller than the load of other subordinate devices acquired from the response signal, the load comparison unit 27 sets the load information output flag to ON. Then, it is determined whether or not it is time to respond by itself. On the other hand, when the load of the own device stored in the own device state table 22 is larger than the load of the other subordinate device acquired from the response signal, the load comparison unit 27 responds at the timing when the own device responds. It is determined whether or not there is.

  For example, when the CPU usage rate of the own device is smaller than the CPU usage rate of other subordinate devices, the load comparison unit 27 determines that the load information of the own device should be transmitted to the monitoring device. The load information output flag is turned ON. The load comparison unit 27 determines that the load information of the own device should not be transmitted to the monitoring device when the CPU usage rate of the own device is higher than the CPU usage rate of the other subordinate devices. Leave the load information output flag OFF.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a response signal. When a response including a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond one after the self device is detected after a subordinate device having a smaller load than the self device is detected, A response including information is transmitted to the monitoring device. In addition, the response transmission unit 25 detects the response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond one ahead of the own device without detecting the subordinate device having a smaller load than the own device. Then, a response including the device status information and the load information of the own device is transmitted to the monitoring device.

  Specifically, the response transmission unit 25 determines whether the load information output flag is ON or OFF when it is determined by the response control unit 24 that it is the timing at which the own device responds. . Here, when the response transmission unit 25 determines that the load information output flag is ON, as shown in FIG. 13A, the logical address of the monitoring device as the destination, the device identifier of the own device as the transmission source, and the device A response signal including state information and load information is sent on the bus. On the other hand, when the response transmission unit 25 determines that the load information output flag is OFF, as shown in FIG. 13B, the logical address of the monitoring device as the destination, the device identifier of the own device as the transmission source, and the device A response signal including state information is sent on the bus.

[Processing of information processing system]
(Subordinate equipment)
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the subordinate apparatus. Hereinafter, differences from the processing of the subordinate apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 14, when the request receiving unit 23 receives a request signal (Yes at Step S401), the load comparing unit 27 turns off the load information output flag (Step S402). Following this, the response control unit 24 determines whether or not it is a request signal for confirmation (step S403).

  Thereafter, when it is determined that the device identifier of the own device is not the minimum device identifier (No at Step S406), the subordinate device executes a response timing determination process (Step S407). When it is determined that the response timing is determined by the response timing determination process, the response transmission unit 25 determines whether the load information output flag is ON or OFF (step S408).

  If it is determined that the load information output flag is ON (Yes at step S408), the response transmitter 25 sends a response signal including the device status information and the load information on the bus (step S409). On the other hand, if it is determined that the load information output flag is OFF (No at Step S408), the response transmitter 25 sends a response signal including the device state information on the bus (Step S410).

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of response timing determination processing. In the following, regarding the flow of the response timing determination process from the determination that the device identifier of the own device is not the minimum device identifier to the determination of the response timing, the processing of the subordinate device according to the second embodiment is described below. The different points will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when it is determined that the device identifier of its own device is not the smallest device identifier and a response signal is detected (Yes at step S506), the response control unit 24 stops the timer and after the detection The elapsed time is returned to “0” (step S512). Following this, the load comparison unit 27 determines whether the load information output flag is ON or OFF (step S513).

  Here, when it is determined that the load information output flag is ON (No in step S513), the response control unit 24 determines that the response signal includes the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond first. It is determined that it is time to respond (Yes in step S517).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the load information output flag is OFF (Yes at Step S513), the load comparison unit 27 acquires the load information from the response signal (Step S514), and loads the own device and other subordinates. The load on the apparatus is compared (step S515).

  Here, when the load of the own device is smaller than the load of other subordinate devices (Yes at Step S515), the load comparison unit 27 turns on the load information output flag (Step S516). If the response signal includes the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond first, the response control unit 24 determines that it is time to respond (Yes in step S517).

  On the other hand, when the load of the own device is larger than the load of the other subordinate devices (No in step S515), the response control unit 24 includes the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond first in the response signal. If so, it is determined that it is time to respond (Yes at step S517).

[Effect of Example 3]
16 and 17 are diagrams for explaining the effect of the third embodiment. As described above, according to the third embodiment, only the subordinate apparatus having a lower load than the other subordinate apparatuses transmits the response signal including the load information, so that the polling cycle can be further shortened. Further, according to the third embodiment, the amount of signals flowing on the bus can be reduced, and as a result, the probability that an error occurs in the signals flowing on the bus can be reduced. It is also possible to improve the reliability of the system.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 16, if the load on the subordinate apparatus 2 is larger than that on the subordinate apparatus 1, the subordinate apparatus 2 transmits a response signal that does not include the load information. If the load of the subordinate apparatus n is greater than any of the subordinate apparatuses 1 among the subordinate apparatuses 1 to n-1, the subordinate apparatus n transmits a response signal that does not include load information.

  For this reason, according to the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, even if all subordinate apparatuses transmit a response signal including apparatus state information and load information, it is about 70% of the conventional case. The polling cycle can be shortened. Also, according to the third embodiment, if only the subordinate apparatus 1 transmits a response signal including apparatus state information and load information, the polling cycle can be shortened to about 10% of the conventional case. In the example shown in FIG. 17, 16 subordinate devices are mounted in the information processing system, the bus operating frequency is 10 MHz, the request signal is 64 bits, the response signal including device state information is 8 bits, the device state information and The condition is that the response signal including the load information is 120 bits.

Hereinafter, an information processing system, under the information processing system device, illustrating another embodiment of a contact and the program.

(1) Load information The subordinate apparatus having a lower load than the own apparatus may be detected by comparing the buffer usage rate of the own apparatus with the CPU utilization ratio of another subordinate apparatus. Further, the subordinate apparatus having a smaller load than the own apparatus may be detected by comparing the connection amount of the own apparatus with the connection quantity of other subordinate apparatuses. Further, a subordinate apparatus having two or more load information values less than the own apparatus among the CPU utilization ratio, buffer utilization ratio, and connection amount may be detected as a subordinate apparatus having a smaller load than the own apparatus. Good. Further, the CPU usage rate, the buffer usage rate, and the connection amount may be weighted to detect a subordinate device having a smaller load than the own device.

  Further, when a response including a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond one device ahead is detected, one or two pieces of load information among the CPU usage rate, the buffer usage rate, and the connection amount, and A response including the device status information may be transmitted to the monitoring device.

(2) Request signal The monitoring apparatus transmits a request signal by multicast when the elapsed time after reception indicating the elapsed time since the last response was received reaches a preset time. May be. By doing in this way, even if it is a case where the response from the subordinate apparatus which should respond at the end cannot be received, the load of each subordinate apparatus can be continuously monitored by transmitting a request again. Note that the set time set in the monitoring device is a set time longer than the set time set in the subordinate device.

(3) System Configuration, etc. In the first embodiment, each component of each device described with reference to FIG. 2 is functionally conceptual, and is physically configured as shown in FIG. I don't need it. That is, the specific form of distribution / integration of each component of each device is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, and for example, the response control unit 24 and the response transmission unit 25 are integrated. As described above, all or a part of each component of each device can be configured to be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in an arbitrary unit according to various loads or usage conditions. Furthermore, each processing function (for example, see FIG. 7) performed in each device is realized by a CPU and a program that is analyzed and executed by the CPU, or by wired logic. It can be realized as hardware.

(4) Response transmission program Various processes described in the first embodiment (for example, see FIG. 6) are realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer system such as a personal computer or a workstation. be able to. Therefore, in the following, an example of a computer as a subordinate apparatus that executes a response transmission program having the same function as the subordinate apparatus in the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a computer that executes a response transmission program.

  As illustrated in FIG. 18, the computer 100 is configured by connecting an input unit 110, an output unit 120, an HDD 130, a RAM 140, and a CPU 150 via a bus 160.

  Here, the input unit 110 receives input of various data. The output unit 120 displays various information. The HDD 130 stores information necessary for the CPU 150 to execute various processes. The RAM 140 temporarily stores various information. The CPU 150 executes various arithmetic processes.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the HDD 130 stores in advance a response transmission program 131 that exhibits the same function as the subordinate apparatus described in the first embodiment. Note that the response transmission program 131 can be appropriately distributed and stored in a storage unit of another computer that is communicably connected via a network.

  Then, the CPU 150 reads the response transmission program 131 from the HDD 130 and expands it in the RAM 140. As a result, the response transmission program 131 functions as a response transmission process 141 as shown in FIG. Then, the response transmission program 131 reads the device status data 132 from the HDD 130, expands it in the area allocated to itself in the RAM 140, and executes various processes based on the expanded data and the like.

  The response transmission process 141 corresponds to the processing executed in the request reception unit 23, the response control unit 24, and the response transmission unit 25 shown in FIG. The device state data 132 corresponds to information stored in the device identifier storage unit 21 and the own device state table 22 shown in FIG.

  Note that the programs and data described above do not necessarily have to be stored in the HDD 130 from the beginning. For example, each program is stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flexible disk (FD), a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card or the like inserted into the computer 100, and the computer 100 then stores each program. The program may be read and executed. Alternatively, each program is stored in “another computer (or server)” connected to the computer 100 via a communication line such as a public line, the Internet, a LAN, or a WAN, and the computer 100 uses these communication lines. Each program may be read out from “another computer (or server)” and executed.

(5) Information Processing Method The following information processing method is realized by the subordinate apparatus described in the first embodiment.

  That is, when a request transmitted by multicast from a monitoring device to a plurality of subordinate devices connected in a communicable state via a bus is received, the monitoring device from another subordinate device via the bus A monitoring step for monitoring the response including the device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted to the device, and a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond to the device one before An information processing method including a response transmission step of transmitting a response including the device identifier of the own device and load information to the monitoring device via the bus is realized by the subordinate device.

  The following supplementary notes are further disclosed with respect to the embodiments including the above examples.

(Supplementary Note 1) An information processing system comprising a processing distributor for distributing the information in which a plurality of the subordinate apparatus and each subordinate apparatus to process being monitored and the monitoring device connected to the communicable state with each other via a bus ,
The monitoring device
A request transmission unit for transmitting a response request to the plurality of subordinate devices by multicast;
A response receiver for receiving a response including device identifiers and load information from the plurality of subordinate devices;
A table updating unit for updating the plurality of subordinate load information tables based on the received response;
The processing distribution device includes:
With reference to the load information table of the monitoring device, a processing distribution unit that distributes information to be processed according to the load to a subordinate device with a low load,
Each of the plurality of subordinate apparatuses is
A storage unit for storing a device identifier for identifying each subordinate device including its own device;
A request receiving unit for receiving a request from the monitoring device;
A monitoring unit that monitors a response including a device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted from the other subordinate device to the monitoring device via the bus when the request is received;
When the monitoring unit detects a response including a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond immediately before the own device, the response including the device identifier and load information of the own device is monitored via the bus. An information processing system comprising: a response transmission unit that transmits to a device.

(Supplementary Note 2) A subordinate apparatus used in an information processing system including a plurality of subordinate apparatuses connected to each other via a bus, a monitoring apparatus, and a processing distribution apparatus,
A request receiving unit that receives a request for a response including device identifiers and load information of each subordinate device, which is transmitted from the monitoring device by multicast;
A monitoring unit that monitors a response including a device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted from the other subordinate device to the monitoring device via the bus when the request is received;
When a response including a device identifier of a subordinate device that should respond to the previous device is detected by the monitoring unit, a response including the device identifier of the own device and load information is transmitted via the bus. A response transmitter to transmit to
A subordinate apparatus having an information receiving unit for processing information to be processed from the processing distribution apparatus.

(Additional remark 3) The said response transmission part detects the last response by the said monitoring part, when the response containing the apparatus identifier of the subordinate apparatus which should respond before the own apparatus by the said monitoring part is detected. When the post-detection elapsed time indicating the elapsed time since the time reached a preset set time, a response including the device identifier of the own device and load information is transmitted to the monitoring device via the bus. The subordinate apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2, characterized by:

(Appendix 4) Each time a response is detected by the monitoring unit, the load information included in the detected response is compared with the load information of the own device to detect a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device. The response transmission unit further includes a subordinate device to which the monitoring unit should respond one time before the own device after a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device is detected by the detection unit. When a response including an identifier is detected, a response including only the device identifier of the own device is transmitted to the monitoring device, and the monitoring unit detects the subordinate device having a lower load than the own device without detecting the subordinate device. When a response including a device identifier of a subordinate device to be responded to before the own device is detected by the unit, a response including the device identifier of the own device and load information is transmitted to the monitoring device. This The subordinate apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2, characterized by:

(Appendix 5) A computer as a monitoring device connected in a communicable state via a bus, a computer as a plurality of subordinate devices to be monitored, and a computer as a processing distribution device for distributing information processed by each subordinate device a program for executing the information processing in the information processing system comprising,
In the computer as the monitoring device,
A request transmission procedure for transmitting a response to a computer as the plurality of subordinate devices by multicast;
A response reception procedure for receiving a response including a device identifier and load information from a computer as the plurality of subordinate devices;
Based on the received response, execute a table update procedure for updating the plurality of subordinate load information tables,
In the computer as the processing distribution device,
With reference to the load information table of the computer as the monitoring device, let the computer as the subordinate device with a low load execute a processing distribution procedure for distributing information to be processed according to the load,
A computer corresponding to each of the plurality of subordinate devices,
A request receiving procedure for receiving a request from a computer as the monitoring device;
When the request is received, a response including the device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted from the computer as the other subordinate device to the computer as the monitoring device via the bus is monitored. Monitoring procedures to
With reference to a storage unit that stores a device identifier for identifying a computer as each subordinate device including the own device, a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond one time before the own device is obtained by the monitoring procedure. And a response transmission procedure for transmitting a response including the device identifier and load information of the own device to the computer as the monitoring device when detected.

Ru good information processing system comprising a processing distributor for distributing the information (Supplementary Note 6) a plurality of the subordinate apparatus and each subordinate apparatus to be monitored and the monitoring device connected to the communicable state with each other via a bus handles An information processing method,
The monitoring device
A request transmission step of transmitting a response request to the plurality of subordinate apparatuses by multicast;
A response receiving step of receiving a response including a device identifier and load information from the plurality of subordinate devices;
Based on the received response, execute a table update step of updating the plurality of subordinate load information tables,
The processing distribution device includes:
Referring to the load information table of the monitoring device, execute a process distribution step of distributing information to be processed according to the load to a computer as a subordinate device with a low load,
Each of the plurality of subordinate devices is:
A request receiving step of receiving a request from the monitoring device;
A monitoring step of monitoring a response including a device identifier and load information of the other subordinate device transmitted from the other subordinate device to the monitoring device via the bus when the request is received;
With reference to a storage unit that stores a device identifier for identifying a computer as each subordinate device including the own device, a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond before the own device is obtained by the monitoring step. And a response transmission step of transmitting a response including the device identifier and load information of the own device to the monitoring device via the bus when detected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Subordinate apparatus state table 12 Request transmission part 13 Response reception part 14 Table update part 21 Device identifier memory | storage part 22 Self apparatus state table 23 Request reception part 24 Response control part 25 Response transmission part 26 Information reception part 27 Load comparison part 100 Computer 110 Input unit 120 Output unit 130 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
131 Response transmission program 132 Device status data 140 RAM (Read Only Memory)
141 Response transmission process 150 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
160 bus

Claims (4)

An information processing system in which a plurality of the subordinate apparatus and each subordinate apparatus to be monitored and connected to the monitoring device in a communicable state to each other physician comprises a processing distributor for distributing the information to be processed,
The monitoring device
A request transmission unit that transmits a request for a response to the plurality of subordinate apparatuses by multicast;
A response receiving unit that receives a response from the plurality of subordinate apparatus,
Based on the response to the received, and a table update unit for updating the load information table of the plurality of subordinate
The processing distribution device includes:
With reference to the load information table of the monitoring device, a processing distribution unit that distributes information to be processed according to the load to a subordinate device with a low load,
Each of the plurality of subordinate apparatus,
A request receiving unit that receives the request from the previous SL monitoring device,
Upon receiving the request, a monitoring unit for monitoring a response containing the device identifier and the load information of the other subordinate apparatus to be sent to another lower-level device or al before Symbol monitoring device,
Each time a response is detected by the monitoring unit, the load information included in the detected response is compared with the load information of the own device, and the detection unit detects a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device,
If the monitoring unit detects a subordinate device with a lower load than the own device and then detects a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond immediately before the own device, A response including only the device identifier of the device is transmitted to the monitoring device, and the monitoring unit responds immediately before the own device without detecting a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device. A response transmission unit that transmits a response including the device identifier of the device itself and load information to the monitoring device when a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device is detected ;
An information processing system characterized by this. A subordinate apparatus for use in an information processing system comprising a plurality of lower-level device connected to the communicable state to each other physicians and monitoring device and the processing distributor,
A request receiving unit that receives a request response transmitted by multicast from said monitoring device,
Upon receiving the request, a monitoring unit for monitoring a response containing the device identifier and the load information of the other subordinate apparatus to be sent to another lower-level device or al before Symbol monitoring device,
Each time a response is detected by the monitoring unit, the load information included in the detected response is compared with the load information of the own device, and the detection unit detects a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device,
If the monitoring unit detects a subordinate device with a lower load than the own device and then detects a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond immediately before the own device, A response including only the device identifier of the device is transmitted to the monitoring device, and the monitoring unit responds immediately before the own device without detecting a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device. A response transmission unit that transmits a response including the device identifier of the device itself and load information to the monitoring device when a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device is detected;
The subordinate apparatus characterized by comprising . The response transmitting unit, before Symbol elapsed time after detection that indicates the elapsed time since the detected last response by the monitoring unit, when it reaches the set time that is set in advance, device identifier and the load information of the own device The subordinate apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a response including: is transmitted to the monitoring apparatus. Information processing system computer and the subordinate apparatus as a plurality of subordinate devices computer to be monitored as a connected monitor to communicable state to each other physician comprises a computer as a processing distributor for distributing the information to be processed A program for executing information processing,
In the computer as the monitoring device,
A request transmission procedure for transmitting a request for a response to the computer as the plurality of subordinate devices by multicast;
And procedures response reception that receives a response from the computer as the plurality of the subordinate apparatus,
Based on the response to the received, a table update procedure updates the load information table of the plurality of subordinate to the execution,
In the computer as the processing distribution device,
With reference to the load information table of the computer as the monitoring device, let the computer as the subordinate device with a low load execute a processing distribution procedure for distributing information to be processed according to the load,
A computer corresponding to each of the plurality of subordinate devices,
A request receiving step of receiving the request from the computer as the monitoring device,
Upon receiving the request, the monitoring procedure for monitoring a response containing the device identifier and the load information of the computer as the other subordinate apparatus to be transmitted to the computer as a computer or found before Symbol monitoring device as another subordinate apparatus When,
Each time a response is detected by the monitoring procedure, the load information included in the detected response is compared with the load information of the own device to detect a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device,
If a subordinate device having a lower load than the own device is detected by the detection procedure, and if a response including the device identifier of the subordinate device that should respond one time before the own device is detected by the monitoring procedure, A response including only the device identifier of the device is transmitted to the computer as the monitoring device, and a subordinate device having a load less than that of the own device is not detected by the detection procedure, and the monitoring procedure causes the immediately preceding device to When a response including a device identifier of a subordinate device to be responded to is detected, a response transmission procedure for transmitting a response including the device identifier of the own device and load information to the computer as the monitoring device is executed.
A program characterized by that.

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