JPH02131649A - Loop form communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To instantly inform a flat taken place and to quicken a restoration processing by providing a means adding a content informing the fault state of other transmitter or other processor in a fault state inquiry frame to each transmitter to a monitoring device. CONSTITUTION:An information storage processing means 43 of the monitoring device 5 reads the fault detection processing time of information processing units 1, 3 to be stored during communication at present and it is informed to a composing means 44 together with various constituent information to request the composition of a communication frame 50. When the communication frame is received by a transmitter 11 or 13, a detection means 31 checks the state of the information processing units 1, 3 to decide whether or not it is normal and requests the generation of a replay communication frame 50 to the composing means 33. When a transmitter 15 receiving a communication frame 50, then an analysis means 42 is informed through a transmission/ reception means 41 of the monitoring device 5. The analysis means 42 repeats the similar operation again after a fault detection processing time interval stored in the information storage processing means 43 when the information processing units 1, 3 are normal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is used in a communication system in which a plurality of transmission devices communicate with each other via a common loop-shaped transmission path.

The present invention is suitable for use in failure detection methods for these transmission devices and processing devices connected thereto.

〔overview〕

The present invention provides a loop communication system in which a plurality of transmission devices that transmit and receive communication frames are connected to one loop-shaped transmission path, and a monitoring device is connected to one of the transmission devices. Sends communication frames for failure detection to other transmission devices at regular intervals, and detects failures in each transmission device and processing devices connected to them based on the delay in response time, and notifies other transmission devices of this. This allows for prompt recovery processing in the event of a failure.

[Conventional technology]

In the transmission system of information processing devices installed to perform mutual communication via a common transmission path, in order to detect failures that occur in each information processing device during communication, the information processing device There is a method of monitoring the response time of the transmission control procedure, or a method of receiving an abnormal response in the transmission control procedure.

When a failure occurs in the information processing apparatus as described above, it is necessary to detect the failure in a short time and initiate recovery measures.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, this cannot be done using the conventional methods described above.

That is, the two methods, the transmission frame response time monitoring method and the abnormality response method using the transmission control means, have the drawback that an abnormality in the other party's information processing device cannot be detected when no transmission frame occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve this drawback and provide a loop communication system that can immediately notify an abnormality that has occurred and quickly perform recovery processing.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has a plurality of transmission devices connected to a loop-shaped transmission path, and each transmission device transmits and receives a communication frame including a source address and a destination address to the loop-shaped transmission path. A monitoring device is connected to one of the transmission devices, and the monitoring device is configured in a loop communication system including means for collecting and storing failure information of other transmission devices and processing devices connected to these devices. , the monitoring device is characterized in that it is equipped with means for adding content notifying the failure status of other transmission devices or other processing devices to the failure status inquiry frame for each transmission device.

[Effect]

The monitoring device intermittently sends, at predetermined time intervals, a communication frame for failure detection with destination and source addresses attached to the transmission device connected to each processing device. If each processing device and transmission device is normal, each transmission device that receives the frame addressed to each changes the address and sends it back. If a failure occurs, the time interval for sending back messages is different, or if a transmission device recognizes the failure information of the processing device connected to itself, it will write this as data in this frame and send it back, so the monitoring device knows this. Therefore, unless this transmission equipment is restored, the monitoring device will intermittently send failure detection frames containing data to this effect to other transmission devices, so other transmission devices will Alternatively, since the status of the processing devices connected to this device can be recognized, mutual communication can be performed normally except for these devices.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, among the transmission devices 11 to 15 connected to the loop-shaped transmission path 20, four transmission devices 11 to 1
Information processing devices 1 to 4 that communicate with each other via a loop 20 are connected to each of the information processing devices 1 to 4 as processing devices, and a monitoring device 5 is connected to the transmission device 15. Transmission device 11~
l4 is a transmitting/receiving means 32 that transmits and receives communication frames 50 to and from the information processing devices 1 to 4 connected to each, and a transmitting and receiving means 34 that transmits and receives communication frames 50 to and from the communication path 20.
and, respectively.

The monitoring device 5 includes a transmitting/receiving means 41 that transmits and receives a communication frame 50 to and from the transmission path 20 via the transmission device 15. FIG. 2 shows the structure of the communication frame 50.

The main feature of the present invention is that the communication frame 5
0 is the start flag 5l and destination address field 52
, a source address field 53, a control field 54, a data field 55, a frame check field 56, and an end flag 57.The transmission devices 11 to 14 determine whether the communication frame received from the transmission path 20 is addressed to the self. an assembly for assembling a communication frame with an analysis means 35 for analyzing whether or not the transmission destination address field 52 is the same, and a detection means 3l for detecting failures of the information processing devices 1 to 4 connected thereto at predetermined intervals. Means 33
The monitoring device 5 further includes an analysis means 42 for analyzing the destination of the communication frame received from the transmission path 20 based on the source address field 53, and an analysis means 42 for analyzing the transmission destination of the communication frame received from the transmission path 20, and for determining the failure detection processing time of each information processing device 1 to 4. Information storage processing means 43 which stores in advance configuration information including time intervals, temporarily stores the address of the transmission device attached to the information processing device currently communicating, and processes this information; Assembling means 44 reads out the fault detection processing time of the information processing device during communication and the address of the transmission device attached thereto according to instructions, and assembles a communication frame for fault detection, and the assembled frame is sent to the fault detection processing time. Transmitting/receiving means 41 that transmits data intermittently at equal time intervals
and a sending means including.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

Now, when the information processing devices 1 and 3 are communicating with each other, it is assumed that the information processing device 1 detects a failure in the information processing device 3.

The information storage processing means 43 of the monitoring device 5 stores in advance all or part of various information of all the information processing devices 1 to 4. Specifically, the information processing device 1 during communication
, 3, the addresses on the transmission path 20 of the transmission devices 11 to 3 connected to the respective information processing devices 1 to 3, and the failure detection processing time intervals of the information processing devices 1 to 4.

The information storage processing means 43 of the monitoring device 5 reads out the stored fault detection processing time of the information processing devices 1 and 3 currently in communication, notifies this together with various configuration information to the assembly means 44, and creates the communication frame 50. requires assembly. The assembling means 44 includes the destination address field 5 of the communication frame 50.
2 are set with the addresses of the transmission devices 11 and 13 connected to the information processing devices 1 and 3, respectively, and the source address field 53 is set with the address of the transmission device 15 connected to the monitoring device 5. Set the failure detection frame type in the control field 54, and set the failure detection frame type in the control field 54.
5, various information for failure processing is set, and communication frame 50 is set.
Create. Next, the transmission device @1 is transmitted through the transmitting/receiving means 41.
5 to request transmission of a communication frame. The communication frame is transmitted onto the transmission path 20 via the transmission device 15. This communication frame is received by the transmission device 11 or 13. When the receiving means 34 receives this communication frame, it notifies the analyzing means 35. Here, the control field 54 of the communication frame is checked, and the communication frame 5 for fault detection is checked.
If it is determined that it is 0, it is not passed to the information processing devices 1 and 3,
The reception of the failure detection frame is notified to the detection means 31.

The detection means 31 checks the status of the information processing devices 1 and 3, and when determining whether they are normal or faulty, requests the assembly means 33 to create a response communication frame 50 including that information. The assembly means 33 sets the address of the transmission device 15 connected to the monitoring device 5 in the destination address field 52,
The address of the transmission device IL 13 is set in the source address field 53, information indicating the response frame of the failure detection frame is set in the control field 54, and information indicating whether the information processing devices 1 and 3 are normal or abnormal is set in the data 7 yield field 54. The communication frame 50 is assembled and transmitted onto the transmission line 20 via the transmission means 34.

When the transmission device 15 receives this communication frame 50, it notifies the analysis device 42 through the transmission/reception device 41 of the monitoring device 5. The analysis means 42 examines the control field 54 of the communication frame 50, and when it is found that it indicates a response to a fault detection frame, it examines the data field 55, and the information processing apparatus 1,
3 is normal, the same operation is repeated again after the failure detection processing time interval stored in the information storage processing means 43. In this way, this simulation is performed while the information processing device L3 is normal. If, for example, the information processing device 3 among the information processing devices 1 and 3 is abnormal, the assembly means 44 will
When the address of the transmission device 11 connected to the information processing device 1 that is communicating with the failed information processing device 3 stored in the information storage processing means 43 is obtained,
This address is set in the destination address field 52, the address of the transmission device 15 is set in the source address field 53, the type of fault notification frame is set in the control field, and detailed fault information is set in the data field 55. A communication frame 50 in which information is set is assembled and transmitted onto the transmission line 20 via the transmitting/receiving means 41. When the transmission device 11 receives this communication frame 50, it is notified to the analysis means 35 via the transmission and reception means 34, and when it checks the control field 54 and determines that it is the communication frame 50 for failure notification, it sends the communication frame 50 through the transmission and reception means 32. Information processing device 1
By transmitting this communication frame, the information processing device 1
can detect a failure in the information processing device 3.

In the embodiment described above, the information processing devices perform one-to-one communication, but the present invention is not limited to this, and performs l-to-h (both i and h are positive integers) communication. Even in cases where the information storage and processing means is expanded, the invention can be applied.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, when a failure occurs in an information processing apparatus, all information processing apparatuses communicating with the information processing apparatus are immediately notified of the occurrence of the failure. Therefore, other information processing devices communicating with the faulty information processing device can detect the fault in a short time and can quickly start recovery measures, which has the effect of improving the transmission efficiency of the transmission path.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the format of a communication frame. 1, 2, 3, 4... Information processing device, 5... Monitoring device, 11S12, 13, l4, 15... Transmission device, 20
...Transmission path, 31...Detection means, 32, 41...
Transmitting/receiving means, 33, 44... Assembly means, 34... Transmission line transmitting/receiving means, 35, 42... Analysis means, 43...
- Information storage processing means, 50... Communication frame, 51.
...Start flag, 52... Destination address field, 53... Source address field, 54... Control field, 55... Data field, 56...
- Frame check sequence, 57... End flag. Agent Patent Attorney Naotaka Ide

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of transmission devices are connected to a loop-shaped transmission path, and each transmission device is provided with means for transmitting and receiving a communication frame including a source address and a destination address on the loop-shaped transmission path, A monitoring device is connected to one of the transmission devices, and the monitoring device is connected to the monitoring device in a loop communication method that includes means for collecting and storing failure information of other transmission devices and processing devices connected to these devices. A loop communication system characterized by comprising means for adding content notifying a failure status of another transmission device or another processing device to a failure status inquiry frame for each transmission device.