JP7183885B2 - START CONTROL DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, START CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an activation control device, an image forming apparatus, an activation control method, and a program.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200002 discloses a technique for restarting software or an OS when software that should be started when an OS is started is not started.

In conventional image forming apparatuses with multiple units, when a failure occurs, the unit that caused the failure (including software) is restarted. There is a technique to restore

However, in the conventional technology, if the system is not restored by restarting the unit, the entire system is restarted continuously. In this case, the recovery time is longer than when the entire system is restarted from the beginning. There is a risk that it will take time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems of the prior art by making it possible to suppress the lengthening of the recovery time when a failure occurs in an apparatus having a plurality of units.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a start control device of the present invention is a start control device that controls the restart of a device that includes a plurality of units, the restart time of each of the plurality of units, and the A storage unit that stores the restart time and the success rate of recovery from a failure by restarting each of a plurality of units, and a single unit related to the failure based on each information stored in the storage unit If the expected value calculated by the expected value calculation unit that calculates the expected value of the recovery time from the failure and the expected value calculated by the expected value calculation unit is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, the unit alone a restart execution unit that executes restart and restarts the entire system when the expected value calculated by the expected value calculation unit is longer than the restart time of the entire system.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress an increase in recovery time when a failure occurs in an apparatus including a plurality of units.

1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of an activation control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of processing by the activation control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of an activation control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
(Hardware Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 100)
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a controller 100A, a wireless communication unit 102, a FAX unit 103, an image reading unit 104, an operation section unit 107, a printing unit 108, a storage device 109, and an activation control device 110. . These pieces of hardware are interconnected via a bus 100B.

Controller 100A has SoC 101 , ROM 106 and RAM 105 . The SoC 101 executes programs temporarily held by the RAM 105 . The RAM 105 temporarily holds various programs and data read from the ROM 106 and the storage device 109 . The ROM 106 stores programs and various data that are executed when the image forming apparatus is started.

The controller 100A is a program (PDL parser) capable of interpreting PDL (Page Description Language) read from the ROM 106 onto the RAM 105 when print data is received via the wireless communication unit 102 or the FAX unit 103, for example. is executed by the SoC 101 to interpret the print data and generate a bitmap image.

The image reading unit 104 optically reads a document placed on a reading surface to generate image data.

The printing unit 108 prints the bitmap image on recording paper by, for example, an electrophotographic process.

The storage device 109 stores various data such as received document data and read image data handled by the image forming apparatus 100 . The storage device 109 can also hold information on the restoration success rate of a unit that causes a failure, the restart time of the unit, and the restart time of the entire system, which are obtained in advance as statistical information.

Activation control device 110 controls the entire system of image forming apparatus 100 or various units provided in image forming apparatus 100 (wireless communication unit 102, FAX unit 103, image reading unit 104, operation unit 107, and printing unit 108). You can reboot individually.

(Functional Configuration of Activation Control Device 110)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the activation control device 110 according to the first embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , activation control device 110 includes storage unit 111 , expected value calculation unit 112 , restart execution unit 113 , and recovery success rate calculation unit 114 .

The storage unit 111 stores various information for selecting a restart method. Specifically, the storage unit 111 stores the restart time of each of the plurality of units provided in the image forming apparatus 100, the restart time of the entire system, and the restart time of each of the plurality of units provided in the image forming apparatus 100. and the recovery success rate from failures caused by

The expected value calculation unit 112 calculates the expected value of the recovery time from the failure for the single restart of the unit related to the failure, based on each piece of information stored in the storage unit 111 . For example, the expected value calculation unit 112 sets the restart time for a single unit to _Tu [seconds], sets the restart time for the entire system to T _s [seconds], and sets the unit recovery success rate to R _u [%]. , the expected value of the recovery time is calculated by the following formula (1).
Expected value = T _u [seconds] × R _u [%] + (T _u + T _s ) [seconds] × (100 - R _u ) [%] (1)

If the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit 112 is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, the restart executing unit 113 restarts the unit related to the failure individually. On the other hand, when the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit 112 is longer than the restart time of the entire system, the restart executing unit 113 restarts the entire system.

The restart executing unit 113 may restart a single unit or the entire system by itself by executing the restart program, and requests the image forming apparatus 100 to execute the restart program. By doing so, the image forming apparatus 100 may be caused to restart the unit alone or the entire system. It should be noted that restarting means starting after shutdown, and includes starting of related software, various initial settings, and the like.

Recovery success rate calculation unit 114 calculates a recovery success rate for each unit included in image forming apparatus 100 . For example, the recovery success rate calculation unit 114 determines “success” when the system is recovered by the restart each time a single unit is restarted when a failure occurs, and determines that the system is not recovered by the restart. The case is set as “failure”, and the execution results are accumulated in the storage unit 111 . Recovery success rate calculation unit 114 then calculates a recovery success rate for each unit included in image forming apparatus 100 based on the execution results accumulated in storage unit 111 using Equation (2) below.

Recovery success rate = number of successes/(number of successes + number of failures) (2)

Furthermore, the recovery success rate calculation unit 114 updates the recovery success rate stored in the storage unit 111 with the calculated recovery success rate. Calculation and updating of the recovery success rate by the recovery success rate calculation unit 114 may be performed each time the single unit is restarted, or may be performed periodically.

Each function of the activation control device 110 described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the "processing circuit" in this specification means a processor programmed by software to perform each function, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, or a processor designed to perform each function described above. devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (digital signal processors), FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and conventional circuit modules.

Further, each function of the activation control device 110 described above may be implemented by a processor executing a program stored in a storage medium in the activation control device 110 or the image forming apparatus 100, for example. This program may be provided in a state in which it has been installed in activation control device 110 or image forming apparatus 100 in advance, or may be provided externally and installed in activation control device 110 or image forming apparatus 100 . In the latter case, the program may be provided by an external storage medium (e.g., USB memory, memory card, CD-ROM, etc.) or provided by downloading from a server on a network (e.g., Internet, etc.). You may do so.

Note that part of the functions of the activation control device 110 described above may be realized by using the hardware of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. For example, storage unit 111 may be realized by using storage device 109 of image forming apparatus 100 .

(Procedure of processing by activation control device 110)
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of processing by the activation control device 110 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the activation control device 110 determines whether or not an occurrence of a failure has been detected (step S301). If it is determined in step S301 that no failure has occurred (step S301: No), the activation control device 110 executes the process of step S301 again.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S301 that a failure has occurred (step S301: Yes), the expected value calculation unit 112 calculates the failure detected in step S301 based on the information stored in the storage unit 111. The expected value of the recovery time from the failure is calculated for the single restart of the unit related to the (step S302).

Then, the restart execution unit 113 determines whether or not the expected value calculated in step S302 is shorter than the restart time of the entire system stored in the storage unit 111 (step S303).

If it is determined in step S303 that the expected value is not shorter than the restart time of the entire system (step S303: No), the restart executing unit 113 restarts the entire system (step S304). Activation control device 110 then terminates the series of processes shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S303 that the expected value is shorter than the restart time of the entire system (step S303: Yes), the restart executing unit 113 restarts the unit related to the fault detected in step S301. is restarted (step S305). Then, the recovery success rate calculation unit 114 calculates the recovery success rate based on the restart result of step S305 and the past restart results accumulated in the storage unit 111. Based on the calculated recovery success rate, , the recovery success rate stored in the storage unit 111 is updated (step S306). After that, the activation control device 110 ends the series of processes shown in FIG.

(Example of information stored in storage unit 111)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 111 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4 , storage unit 111 stores a plurality of units (wireless communication unit 102 , FAX unit 103 , image reading unit 104 , operation unit 107 , and printing unit 108 ) provided in image forming apparatus 100 . Remember boot time. The storage unit 111 also stores, for each type of failure, the failure recovery success rate of units related to the failure. The storage unit 111 also stores the restart time of the entire system. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the storage unit 111 stores "60 seconds" as the restart time of the entire system.

(Example of calculation of expected value by expected value calculation unit 112)
Here, an example of expected value calculation by the expected value calculator 112 based on each piece of information shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

For example, when failure A related to the wireless communication unit 102 occurs, the expected value calculation unit 112 sets the restart time _Tu of the wireless communication unit 102 to “5 seconds”, and the recovery success rate _Ru of the wireless communication unit 102 is "60%", the restart time T _s of the entire system is "60 seconds", and by the above formula (1),
5 [seconds] x 60 [%] + (5 + 60) [seconds] x (100-60) [%] = 29 [seconds]
is calculated as the expected value of recovery time.

In this case, the calculated expected value of recovery time “29 [seconds]” is shorter than the restart time of the entire system “60 [seconds]”. 102 is restarted by itself.

Further, for example, when a failure A related to the FAX unit 103 occurs, the expected value calculation unit 112 sets the restart time _Tu of the FAX unit 103 to "15 seconds" and the recovery success rate _Ru of the FAX unit 103 to With "20%" and the restart time T _s of the entire system as "60 seconds", according to the above formula (1),
15 [seconds] x 20 [%] + (15 + 60) [seconds] x (100-20) [%] = 63 [seconds]
is calculated as the expected value of recovery time.

In this case, the calculated expected recovery time value “63 [seconds]” is longer than the restart time “60 [seconds]” of the entire system, so the restart execution unit 113 restarts the entire system. do.

As described above, the startup control device 110 according to the first embodiment of the present invention provides the restart time for each of the plurality of units included in the image forming apparatus 100, the restart time for the entire system, and the restart time for the plurality of units. A storage unit 111 that stores a recovery success rate from a failure by each restart, and based on each information stored in the storage unit 111, a single restart of a unit related to the failure is determined from the failure. If the expected value calculated by the expected value calculation unit 112 is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, the unit is restarted individually. and a restart executing unit 113 for restarting the entire system when the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit 112 is longer than the restart time of the entire system.

As a result, the activation control device 110 according to the first embodiment of the present invention restarts the unit alone and restarts the entire system based on the expected value calculated based on each information stored in the storage unit 111. It is possible to execute the one that is more likely to take less time to restore the system. Therefore, according to the activation control device 110 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the lengthening of the recovery time when a failure occurs in a device having a plurality of units.

[Second embodiment]
(Functional configuration of activation control device 110A)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the activation control device 110A according to the first embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the activation control device 110A of the second embodiment differs from the activation control device 110 of the first embodiment in that an acquisition unit 115 is provided instead of the storage unit 111. FIG. Other points are the same as those of the activation control device 110 of the first embodiment.

Acquisition unit 115 acquires various types of information (reboot time and recovery success rate of each of the plurality of units provided in image forming apparatus 100 , reboot time of entire system) for selecting a reboot method from image forming apparatus 100 . It acquires from the server 200 provided outside via a communication network (for example, the Internet, LAN, etc.). Therefore, the server 200 is provided with a storage unit corresponding to the storage unit 111 of the first embodiment.

In the activation control device 110A of the second embodiment, the expected value calculation unit 112, based on each piece of information acquired from the server 200 by the acquisition unit 115, determines the restart of the single unit related to the failure. Calculate the expected recovery time.

In addition, in the activation control device 110A of the second embodiment, the recovery success rate calculation unit 114 updates the recovery success rate stored in the storage unit of the server 200 with the calculated recovery success rate.

As described above, the activation control device 110A according to the second embodiment of the present invention restarts the unit alone based on the expected value calculated based on each information stored in the server 200, It is possible to execute the restart of the entire system, which is more likely to shorten the time required for system recovery. Therefore, according to the activation control device 110A according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the lengthening of the recovery time when a failure occurs in a device having a plurality of units.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications or Change is possible.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the activation control device of the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus has been described. It can be applied to any device as long as it has a unit of

100 image forming apparatus 110, 110A activation control device 111 storage unit 112 expected value calculation unit 113 restart execution unit 114 recovery success rate calculation unit 115 acquisition unit 200 server

JP-A-2002-149437

Claims (6)

A startup control device for controlling restarting of a device comprising a plurality of units,
a storage unit that stores the restart time of each of the plurality of units, the restart time of the entire system, and the success rate of recovery from failure due to the restart of each of the plurality of units;
an expected value calculation unit that calculates an expected value of a recovery time from a failure for a single restart of the unit related to the failure, based on each piece of information stored in the storage unit;
When the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, restarting the unit alone is performed, and the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit is longer than the restart time of the entire system, a restart execution unit that restarts the entire system. calculating the recovery success rate by the single restart of the unit based on the execution result of the single restart of the unit, and based on the calculated recovery success rate, the recovery success stored in the storage unit; 2. The activation control device according to claim 1, further comprising a recovery success rate calculator that updates the rate. A startup control device for controlling restarting of a device comprising a plurality of units,
an acquisition unit that acquires from a server the restart time of each of the plurality of units, the restart time of the entire system, and the success rate of recovery from failure due to the restart of each of the plurality of units;
an expected value calculation unit that calculates an expected value of a recovery time from a failure with respect to a single restart of the unit related to the failure, based on each piece of information acquired from the server;
When the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, restarting the unit alone is performed, and the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit is longer than the restart time of the entire system, a restart execution unit that restarts the entire system. multiple units and
An image forming apparatus comprising: the startup control device according to claim 1 . A startup control method for controlling restart of a device having a plurality of units, comprising:
Based on the restart time of each of the plurality of units, the restart time of the entire system, and the failure recovery success rate of each of the plurality of units, which are stored in the storage unit, an expected value calculation step of calculating an expected value of the recovery time from the failure for the single restart of the unit related to the failure;
When the expected value calculated in the expected value calculating step is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, the unit is restarted individually, and the expected value calculated in the expected value calculating step is longer than the restart time of the entire system, a restart execution step of executing the restart of the entire system. A program for controlling restart of a device comprising multiple units,
the computer,
a storage unit that stores the restart time of each of the plurality of units, the restart time of the entire system, and the success rate of recovery from failure due to the restart of each of the plurality of units;
an expected value calculation unit that calculates an expected value of a recovery time from a failure for a single restart of the unit related to the failure, based on each piece of information stored in the storage unit;
When the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit is shorter than the restart time of the entire system, restarting the unit alone is performed, and the expected value calculated by the expected value calculating unit is longer than the reboot time of the entire system, a program for functioning as a reboot executing unit that executes the reboot of the entire system.

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