JPH06276196A - Method and device for informing routing information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent repeating disabling data from being transmitted to a communication channel network and to prevent useless charging by promptly informing a second area of the structural change of a first area. CONSTITUTION:The first area 1 and the second area 2 are connected through the communication channel network 3. The repeater I1 of the first area 1 stores routing information relating to the repeater and a specific end system inside the first area 1 and the routing information is regularly broadcasted to the repeater and the specific end system inside the first area 1. On the other hand, when the structural change such as the addition and deletion, etc., of LAN is generated in the first area 1, only the routing information corresponding to the structural change is informed through the communication channel network 3 to the repeater 12 on the side of the second area 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a predetermined communication line between a first area and a second area which are composed of a plurality of LANs (local area networks) and a relay device connecting them. Applied to communication networks connected by
Method for notifying routing information from one area to another area, which is used to determine an optimum route for communication between an end system in a first area and an end system in a second area And equipment.

In this specification, the term "area" is used.
Means an area composed of one or more LANs and a relay device connecting them, and the term "LAN"
Means a set of physical communication lines.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an area where a plurality of LANs are connected via a relay device, a specific end system and all relay devices in the area send routing information such as their own address and network cost to the LAN. Broadcast at regular intervals. Each relay device has a routing information recording unit for recording routing information. Each relay device determines an optimum route for data transfer between end systems based on the broadcasted information, and records the determined route information in the routing information recording unit. When the relay device receives data to be transmitted from one end system to another end system, the relay device determines an appropriate route based on the information recorded in the routing information recording unit, and properly relays the data.

The information recorded in the routing information recording section is managed by a timer. If the same routing information is not received within a certain period of time, relay stop processing is performed to stop relaying data to the relay device or end system corresponding to the routing information, and the routing information is recorded in the routing information. Deleted from the department. In other words, if the routing information is not notified within a certain period of time, it is considered that the end system or relay device has been removed from the network, and in order to prevent unnecessary data relaying, the relay stop processing and routing Information is deleted.

A method of notifying routing information in an area configured by such a LAN is a method of notifying routing information to another area connected via a communication line such as ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network). However, in this case, the following problem arises. The traffic on the communication line increases, and the load on the wide area network including the communication line increases.

When the communication line is a pay line, even if the actual data transfer is not performed, the fee is charged by exchanging the routing information. In order to avoid these problems, the following methods have been conventionally used. (1) The routing information on the communication line side is statically managed (registered / deleted, etc.) by the system administrator, and the routing information is not broadcast to the area on the communication line side.

(2) The routing information is periodically broadcast to another area connected via the communication line, but the time interval of the broadcast is lengthened.

[0008]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above method (1),
While there is no traffic on the communication line when data is not relayed, useless billing is suppressed, but when the configuration in the area is changed, that information is connected to other areas via the communication line. Cannot automatically notify the end system or relay device inside. Therefore, the trouble on the network cannot be promptly reflected in the routing information, and there is a possibility that data that cannot be relayed may flow on the communication line. Moreover, there is a problem that the burden on the system administrator increases as the network expands.

On the other hand, in the above method (2), since the routing information is automatically notified, there is no problem that the burden on the system administrator increases. However, since it takes a long time to notify the routing information that reflects the trouble on the network, the trouble on the network cannot be promptly reflected on the routing information, and data that cannot be relayed is transmitted to the communication line. The problem of being washed away cannot be prevented.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and to suppress the notification of the routing information via the communication line to the minimum, and to notify the routing information promptly. And to provide a routing information notification device.

[0011]

The routing information notification method of the present invention for achieving the above object is one method in which a first area connected to a predetermined communication line is connected to the predetermined communication line. A method for notifying routing information for selecting an optimum routing route to the above second area via the communication line,
Only when a configuration change occurs in the first area, the routing information corresponding to the configuration change is notified to the second area via the communication line.

As described in claim 2,
In the first area, all the routing information corresponding to the second area is periodically distributed to each component in the first area, like the routing information in the first area. It is preferable to be informed. Further, the routing information notification device of the present invention provides an optimal routing path from the first area connected to the predetermined communication line to the one or more second areas connected to the predetermined communication line. A device for notifying routing information for making a selection via the communication line, a means for detecting whether or not the configuration of the first area has been changed, and a change of the configuration of the first area being detected. And a means for creating routing information corresponding to the configuration change, and a means for transmitting the routing information corresponding to the configuration change to the second area via the communication line. And

As described in claim 4,
For each component in the first area, all the routing information corresponding to the second area is provided in the same manner as the routing information in the first area. It is preferred to further include means for periodically broadcasting the portion.

[0014]

According to the above configuration, the notification of the routing information from the first area to the second area is promptly performed whenever the configuration of the first area is changed. Therefore, for example, when data cannot be relayed due to a change in the configuration of the first area, non-relayable data is transmitted from the second area to the first area via the communication line. Can be reliably prevented. Further, the routing information is not notified periodically, and moreover, since the notified routing information only corresponds to the change in the configuration, the traffic on the communication line does not increase excessively. Therefore, if a pay communication line is used, useless billing can be prevented.

In the first area, the second area
If all the routing information corresponding to each area is broadcast to each component in the first area on a regular basis, like the routing information in the first area, The existing network system can be used as is for the area system.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a communication network to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
The first area 1 is connected to a communication line network 3 such as ISDN via a relay device I1, and the second area 2 is connected to this communication line network 3 via a relay device I2. The first area 1 has LANs 11 and 12,
These are connected via the relay device 13. LAN
An end system E1 is connected to 12. Also,
The second area 2 has LANs 21 and 22, which are connected via a relay device 23. LAN22
Is connected to the end system E2.

With this configuration, when data is transmitted from the end system E1 to the end system E2, for example, the end system E1 to the LAN 12 and the relay device 1
3, transmission data is sent to the communication network 3 via the LAN 11 and the relay device I1. This transmission data is transmitted from the relay device I2 to the LAN 21, the relay device 23, and the LAN.
22 to the end system E2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the relay device I1. The relay device I2 has the same configuration. The relay device I1 includes a plurality of interfaces I / F1 and I / F.
2 are provided, which are a communication network 3 and a LAN 1.
1 and 1, respectively. Interface I / F
1, I / F 2, a data receiving unit 130 for receiving data from the communication line network 3 or the LAN 11, and a data transmitting unit 1 for transmitting data to the communication line network 3 or the LAN 11.
And 40 are provided. The relay data to be relayed by the relay device I1 is once provided from the data receiving unit 130 to the data relay unit 120, and then the data transmitting unit 14 is provided.
It is given from 0 to one of the interfaces I / F1 and I / F2. The number of interfaces can be increased according to the number of LANs and communication lines connected to the relay device I1.

The data relay unit 120 refers to the routing table 111 in which the routing information, which is the information for determining the optimum route for relaying the data, is recorded, and determines the interface to which the data should be transmitted. The routing information processing unit 110 updates the routing information in the routing table 111.
When the data receiving unit 130 receives the routing information,
This routing information is the routing information processing unit 110.
And the routing information will be updated.

The routing information processing unit 110 is a LAN
11 has the following functions and. The received routing information is analyzed, compared with the routing information currently recorded in the routing table 111, and the routing information is updated.

After periodically searching the routing information in the routing table 111 and performing relay stop processing for stopping the relay of data via the route corresponding to the routing information that has not been updated for a certain period of time, the routing table The routing information is deleted from 111 (aging process). The data transmission unit 140 is instructed to periodically broadcast the information recorded in the routing table 111 to the relay device and the end system in the LAN 11.

On the other hand, the routing information processing unit 110
For other areas (including the second area 2) connected via the communication network 3, the following ',' and '
It has a function like. 'The received routing information is analyzed and compared with the routing information currently recorded in the routing table 111 to update the routing information.

The routing information received from the interface corresponding to the communication network 3 is not subjected to the above aging processing. That is, unless the routing information indicating that the LAN has been deleted from the interface corresponding to the communication network 3, the routing information is not deleted. 'When searching for routing information on a regular basis, (a)
If there is newly registered routing information or (a) routing information that has stopped relaying, only that routing information is selected as the routing information corresponding to the configuration change. Then, a routing information packet including the selected routing information is created, and the routing information packet is transmitted to the interface corresponding to the communication network 3 via the data transmitting unit 140. If,
If there is no routing information corresponding to the above (A) or (A) in the routing information table 111, the routing information packet is not created.

The routing information processing unit 110 is
The routing information received from the side of the communication line network 3 is also periodically sent to the relay device or end system in the first area 1 as well as the routing information about the relay device or end system in the first area 1. Broadcast to. In this way, the relay device I1 periodically broadcasts routing information to the first area 1 and to the other areas connected via the communication network 3 to the first area. The routing information packet is transmitted only when there is a configuration change in 1 (such as new establishment or deletion of LAN).

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation related to reception of routing information when the relay device I1 is activated. At the time when the relay device I1 is activated, the routing table 111 does not record the routing information regarding the second area 2, so that an inquiry is required. Therefore, when the relay device I1 is activated,
As shown in FIG. 3A, a routing information request command is transmitted to the relay device I2 on the second area 2 side via the communication network 3. In response to this, the relay device I2
Notifies the relay device I1 of all the routing information related to the second area 2. This routing information is, for example, “the routing cost of the LAN 21 is“ 2 ””,
Information such as “the routing cost of the LAN 22 is“ 3 ””, ... Is specified in each communication procedure. This routing information is stored in the routing table 111 in the relay device I1.

In this way, when the relay device I1 is activated, all the routing information of the relay device I2 can be stored in the routing table 111. Figure 3 (b)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation in a steady state where there is no change in configuration in the first area 1 and the second area 2. That is, the relay devices I1 and I2 do not exchange routing information via the communication network 3, and the relay devices I1 and I2 do not exchange information.
2 only broadcasts routing information to LAN 11 and LAN 21, respectively, on a regular basis. The routing information broadcast at this time includes, in addition to the routing information regarding the internal configuration of each of the first area 1 and the second area 2, information on other areas connected via the communication network 3. It also contains routing information.

FIG. 4 shows a new LAN 1 in the first area 1.
5 is a diagram for explaining a configuration and an operation in the case where 5 is newly installed via the relay device 16. FIG. The routing information table 111 in the relay device I1 stores the routing information corresponding to the LAN 15. Based on the recording of this new routing information, the routing information processing unit 110 creates a routing information packet including only the routing information corresponding to the LAN 15. Then, the packet is transmitted from the data transmission unit 140 to the interface corresponding to the communication network 3.

As a result, the routing information corresponding to the LAN 15 is given to the relay device I2 via the communication line network 3. Then, in the relay device I2, the second
When the routing information is broadcast to all LANs and end systems in the area 2, the routing information corresponding to the new LAN 15 is also notified. In this way, when the LAN 15 is newly installed, this LAN 15
Only the routing information corresponding to is notified to the relay device I2 via the communication network 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and operation in the case where the relay device 13 cannot relay data due to any abnormality, for example. Repeater 1
When the relay of data in 3 is disabled, the routing information of LAN 12 is not notified to the relay device I1.
Therefore, the routing information processing unit 1 in the relay device I1
Based on the fact that the routing information regarding the LAN 12 is not updated for a certain period of time or more, 10 performs relay stop processing regarding the routing information regarding this LAN 12. And
With the change of the routing information, the routing information processing unit 110 creates a routing information packet indicating that the LAN 12 has stopped relaying, and sends the packet from the data transmission unit 140 to the interface corresponding to the communication network 3. Let As a result, the relay device I2 is notified that the relay to the LAN 12 has been stopped via the communication line network 3. The relay device I2 will notify the relay device and the end system in the second area 2 of that fact.

Even if the LAN 12 is deleted, this L
Since the routing information corresponding to the AN 12 is not notified to the relay device I1, the same operation as the above case is performed. As described above, according to the present embodiment, in response to the occurrence of a configuration change (including trouble) in the areas 1 and 2 connected by the communication network 3, only the routing information corresponding to the configuration change is generated. Other areas are automatically notified via the communication network 3. Therefore, when there is a change in the configuration of the areas 1 and 2, it is possible to promptly notify other areas of the change, so that it is possible to ensure that unrelayable data is sent to the communication network 3. Can be avoided. Further, the notification of the routing information via the communication network 3 is not performed periodically but only when the configuration of the areas 1 and 2 is changed, and the routing information to be notified is configured. Only the information corresponding to the change. Therefore, the traffic on the communication line network 3 is extremely small, and when the communication line network 3 is a pay communication line, unnecessary charges can be prevented.

Further, since the conventional algorithm is used as it is for the management of the routing information inside the first area 1 and the second area 2, the communication network can be maintained without changing the existing network system. Net 3
The routing information can be efficiently exchanged between a plurality of areas connected via the. The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the two areas 1 and 2 are connected to the communication line network 3 has been described as an example, but the present invention connects an arbitrary number of two or more areas to the communication line network. The present invention can be widely applied to a case where routing information is exchanged between areas in the existing communication system. Other,
Various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the notification of the routing information from the first area to the second area is
Whenever the configuration of the first area is changed, it is promptly performed each time, and only the routing information corresponding to the configuration change is notified. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the data that cannot be relayed from being sent to the communication line, and the traffic on the communication line does not increase excessively. Therefore, if a pay communication line is used, useless billing can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a communication network to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a relay device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation of exchanging routing information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a configuration and an operation when a LAN is newly installed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a configuration and an operation when data relay is disabled.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 1st area 2 2nd area 3 communication network I1 relay device I2 relay device 11 LAN 12 LAN 13 relay device 15 LAN 21 LAN 22 LAN 23 relay device E1 end system E2 end system

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A routing for selecting an optimum routing path from a first area connected to a predetermined communication line to one or more second areas connected to the predetermined communication line. A method for notifying information via the communication line, wherein routing information corresponding to the change in the configuration is sent via the communication line only when the configuration is changed in the first area. A routing information notifying method characterized by notifying to a second area. 2. In the first area, all the routing information corresponding to the second area, like the routing information in the first area, is a constituent part of the first area. 2. The routing information notification method according to claim 1, wherein the routing information is notified to the user at regular intervals. 3. A routing for selecting an optimum routing route from a first area connected to a predetermined communication line to one or more second areas connected to the predetermined communication line. An apparatus for notifying information via the communication line, a means for detecting the presence or absence of a change in the configuration of the first area, and a configuration for detecting a change in the configuration of the first area. Routing information notification device, and means for generating routing information corresponding to the change in the configuration, and means for transmitting the routing information corresponding to the change in the configuration to the second area via the communication line. . 4. For each component in the first area, all routing information corresponding to the second area is set in the same manner as the routing information in the first area.
4. The routing information notification device according to claim 3, further comprising means for periodically broadcasting to each component in the first area.