JPH07230430A - Information transmission in function sharing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the information transmission system which eliminates a centralized processing part for managing the whole system and eliminates the need to pay attention to the operation state of an opposite-side function subsystem by providing a computer operation mode storage means which stores the operation mode of its computer. CONSTITUTION:When each computer of each function subsystem, e.g. one system computer receives a request to send information from an application program 113 on its computer, an information transmitting means 111 knows the operation mode of its computer by referring to a computer operation mode storage means 114 and sends request information to both computers of a specified function subsystem when the computer is in operation mode wherein information should be sent. When the computer receives information from another function subsystem, on the other hand, an information receiving means 112 refers to the operation mode storage means 114 of its computer to take in received information according to the operation mode or discard it. Consequently, the function sharing system having no common part of the system can be structured and the reliability and expansibility are improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmission system between functional subsystems in a computer system, especially in a functional distributed system that places importance on reliability and expandability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional computer system, a large computer is used to collectively process all application programs and data for realizing necessary functions in the system.
However, such a large computer is expensive and there are many inconveniences such as failure of one computer to disable all functions.

In order to improve such a point, recently, the function of the entire system is divided into some parts, and these divided sub-functions are respectively arranged in a plurality of relatively small computers, and the plurality of computers are transmitted. There has been proposed a function distribution system that works together on the road to realize all desired functions as a whole. An example of such a function distribution system is shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 91 is a computer for system state management for managing the operating state of the entire system, and reference numerals 92 and 93 are subsystems of function A and function B, which are obtained by dividing the overall function of the system into subsystems. In order to prevent the subsystem function from stopping due to a failure of one computer, it has a dual configuration such as 921 and 922, 931 and 932. Reference numeral 94 denotes a transmission path that links the system state management computer and these functional subsystem computers.
The system state management computer 91 monitors the operating state of each functional subsystem computer that constitutes the system, and in the unlikely event that one computer of the functional subsystem fails, the processing task of that functional subsystem is It monitors and issues instructions so that all functions are always executed normally in the entire system, such as execution by a computer. Each computer of the functional subsystem has, for example, one online mode,
If the other computer is operating in the standby mode and the computer in the online mode seems to have failed, the computer in the standby mode changes to the online mode according to the instructions from the computer for system state management, and the processing tasks of the functional subsystem are taken over and executed. To do. As described above, which of the two computers in each functional subsystem is executing the processing in the online mode changes under the control of the system state management computer. On the other hand, in order for each functional subsystem to realize its own function, it is necessary to obtain the result data processed by another functional subsystem or to transmit the result data of its own functional subsystem to another functional subsystem. is there. When transmitting and receiving information between such functional subsystems, it is necessary to change the destination computer depending on the operation mode of the partner computer. Also, in the system of this example,
System status management When the computer stops, it becomes impossible to manage the operation mode of each functional subsystem and the information transmission destination.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional function distribution system, there is a system state management computer that manages the operating state of the entire system. Therefore, due to the failure of this computer, the operating mode management of the entire system is performed. Cannot be done. Further, when transmitting / receiving information between the functional subsystems, it is necessary to know the operation mode of the functional subsystem on the other side. Therefore, when the system state management computer fails, the information transmission / reception becomes inconvenient.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention eliminates the centralized processing part for managing the entire system, and further needs to be aware of the operating state of the counterpart functional subsystem in the information transmission / reception processing between the functional subsystems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information transmission method for a function-distributed system that does not have a function.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the problems,
Information transmitting means for transmitting information to each computer of each functional subsystem based on a request from the application program,
An information receiving means for receiving the information arrived from the other function subsystem and a computer operating mode storing means for storing the operating mode of the own computer referred to in the transmitting and receiving processing of the information are provided.

[0008]

When each computer of each functional subsystem receives an information transmission request from the application program of its own computer, the information transmission means knows the operation mode of its own computer by referring to the computer operation mode storage means, and the computer If it is the operation mode in which the information should be transmitted, the request information is transmitted to the computers of both systems of the designated functional subsystem. When the computer receives information from another functional subsystem, the information receiving means refers to the operation mode storing means of the own computer,
If the computer is in the operation mode in which the reception information should be captured, the reception information is captured and delivered to the designated application program, and in the operation mode that should not be captured, the reception information is discarded.

[0009]

EXAMPLE The configuration of the first example will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numerals 1, 2, and 3 are functional subsystems that divide and process the functions of the entire system, and are linked by a transmission line 4. Although this figure shows an example in which the number of divided sub-functions is three, the number of sub-functions is not particularly limited.

Each functional subsystem has, for example, 1 for function A.
It is composed of 1 and 12 duplicated computers, and each computer has the same function. For example, the 1-system computer 11 of the function A subsystem 1 has an application program group 113 for realizing the function of the function A subsystem and an information transmitting means for transmitting information from the application program group to another function subsystem.
111 and information receiving means 112 that receives information transmitted from another functional subsystem and transfers the information to any of the application programs 113, and the computer referred to by these information transmitting means 111 and information receiving means 112. And a computer operating mode storing means 114 for storing the operating mode of the computer.

The operation of this embodiment is divided into the operation at the time of transmission and the operation at the time of reception, and the application program of the function A subsystem is divided.
A case where a transmission request is issued from 113 and information is transmitted to the application program 213 of the function B subsystem will be described as an example.

Now, it is assumed that the operating states of the respective functional subsystems are set as follows. That is, in the function A subsystem, the 1-system computer is in the online mode, the 2-system computer is in the standby mode, and in the function B subsystem, the 1-system computer is in the online mode and the 2-system computer is in the standby mode. The online mode computer is obliged to pass the request for transmission of online information generated by the application program to the application program of the online mode computer of the partner functional subsystem. A computer in standby mode shall not transmit online information, and shall not deliver online information to the application program of its own computer.

The operation of the information transmitting means 111 when there is a transmission request from the 1-system computer application program group 113 of the function A subsystem under the above conditions will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The format of the transmission information is shown in FIG.
Will be described as an example.

At processing step S ₂₁ , the application program 113
Receive information sent from. Then go to process step S ₂₂ ,
The operation mode of the own computer is checked by referring to the operation mode storage means 114 of the own computer. If the operation mode is not the online mode (No) goes to the process step S _23, it discards the information.

Meanwhile operation mode is for online mode, goes to the processing step S _24, examines the destination functional subsystem data attached to the header portion of the transmission information shown in FIG. 4, determines the destination functional subsystem. Processing step S
_{In 25} , the transmission information is transmitted to the 1-system computer of the destination functional subsystem. Followed by process step S ₂₆ to send the same transmission information to the 2-based computer destination functional subsystem. The information transmission means 111 has received the above from the application program 113.
The processing for one piece of transmission information ends.

Information receiving means 212 of the 1-system computer and 2-system computer of the function B subsystem for receiving the information.
222 Each operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The information received in processing step S ₃₁ is fetched. Next, in processing step S ₃₂ , computer operation mode storage means
Check the operating mode of your computer by referring to 214 or 224. If the operation mode is not online mode, go to the processing step S _33, discards the information.
If the operation mode is the online mode, processing step S
_Going to ₃₄ , the information type attached to the header part of the received information shown in FIG. 4 is checked to determine the application program to which the received information should be delivered. Then go to the processing step S _35, to transfer the received information to the specified application program.

The above current assumptions functions B subsystem in process 1 system computer online mode, the 2-based computer is set to standby mode, functions in the processing step S ₂₅ in FIG. 2 B subsystem 1 The information transmitted to the system computer is delivered to the designated application program by the processing of FIG.

On the other hand, the information transmitted to the system 2 computer of the function B subsystem in the processing step S ₂₆ of FIG. 2 goes to No side in the processing step S ₃₂ by the processing of FIG. 3 and is discarded in the processing step S _33. It

As described above, by adopting the information transmission method of the present invention, the source functional subsystem can reliably transmit information without paying attention to the operating state of the destination functional subsystem. Can be done.

(Other Embodiments) (1) In the above description of the embodiments, a system having two operation modes, an online mode and a standby mode, has been described as an example. However, for example, as an operation mode, a mode other than these, for example, a test mode is provided so that the operation mode storage means 114 can store the information, and as shown in FIG. 5, information division data is provided in the header portion of the transmission information format. By setting the test information, the test information can be handled separately for the entire system. This allows most of the system to process online information and perform online functions, while handling only test information between specific functional subsystems to test newly added functions. It is possible to build a functionally distributed system with high maintainability and maintainability.

(2) In the above description of the embodiments, the number of transmission lines 4 is one. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the transmission line can also realize the same function with a doubled configuration such as 41 and 42. As a result, the same information is
It is possible to reduce the load on the transmission path due to redundant transmission to the duplicated computers on the receiving side. Further, it becomes possible to transmit the online information and the test information using separate transmission paths, so that a system with higher safety can be realized.

(3) In the above description of the embodiment, all the functional subsystems have been described as subsystems having a dual structure. However, the functional subsystems generally require different levels of reliability depending on their assigned functions.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, in the header portion of the transmission information format, the destination configuration data indicating the configuration such as whether the destination functional subsystem is a single configuration, a dual configuration, or a triple configuration is provided. With this, the number of destination computers can be increased or decreased for each destination functional subsystem in the processing of the information transmitting means of FIG. As a result, in the same manner as described above, it becomes possible to make the redundancy different depending on the importance of the functional subsystem, and an economically highly reliable system can be constructed.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the operating mode storing means of the computer is provided in each computer of the functional subsystem. However, if the stored contents cannot be read for some reason, it will hinder driving.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, operating mode storage means 114, 124, ... Are provided outside the computers 11 and 12, and
By providing the operation mode reading means 115, 125 ... For referring to the stored contents of the operation mode storage means 11 and 12, the same operation as the above-mentioned embodiment can be provided. That is, in this embodiment, since the operation mode storage means is independently provided from the functional subsystem computer and they are loosely coupled, the operational reliability of the functional subsystem can be improved.

[0027]

The following effects can be obtained by adopting the information transmission system of the present invention. 1. It is possible to build a function-distributed system that does not have a common part of the system, and it will be a highly reliable and expandable system.

2. The hardware redundancy can be selected according to the importance of the functional subsystem, resulting in a highly economical system. 3. A test operation can be performed with some functional subsystems while continuing online operation, resulting in a system with high maintainability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a representative configuration example of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a processing flowchart of the information transmitting means in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a processing flowchart of the information receiving means in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a first transmission information format example of information to be transmitted and received,

FIG. 5 is a transmission information format example 2 of information to be transmitted and received,

FIG. 6 is a transmission information format example 3 of information to be transmitted and received,

7 is a configuration diagram showing an example in which a transmission line is duplicated in another embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of another embodiment,

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional function distribution system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Function A subsystem, 2 ... Function B subsystem, 3
... Function C subsystem, 113,213 ... 1-system computer application program, 123,223 ... 2-system computer application program, 11
1, 211 ... Information transmission means, 114, 214 ... Operation mode storage means.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. The function of the entire system is divided into a plurality of sub-functions, and an application program for realizing each sub-function is arranged in a functional subsystem in which each of the multiplexing configurations is linked by a transmission line, and the respective multiplexing configurations are arranged. In a function-distributed system that realizes sub-functions while transmitting and receiving information between subsystems as necessary between subsystems, and realizes the intended function as a whole by these subsystems, information is sent to each computer Means, information receiving means, an application program group to be processed by the functional subsystem, and an operation mode storing means for storing the operation mode of the computer in the functional subsystem, and the other functional subsystem from the application program group. When there is a request for information transmission to the information transmission means, the information transmission means refers to the operation mode storage means, and the computer concerned If the operation mode allows transmission, the request information is transmitted to the computer of each system of the specified functional subsystem, and if the operation mode is incapable of transmitting information, the request information is discarded, and the computer When the information is received from the other functional subsystem, the information receiving means refers to the operation mode storage means, and if the operation mode in which the computer should deliver the received information to the application program, the received information is fetched and designated. A function characterized in that each functional subsystem executes transmission / reception processing regardless of the operating mode of other functional subsystems by passing the received information to the application program and discarding the received information if the operating mode should not be passed. Distributed system information transmission method. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission line is duplicated, and the information transmission means has one of the two transmission lines depending on the operation mode of the computer of the own computer subsystem. A function-distributed system information transmission method characterized in that the load factor of the transmission line is reduced by using. 3. The redundancy of the functional subsystem according to claim 1, wherein the destination functional subsystem is a single system, a dual system, a triple system, etc. in the header part of the transmission information format. Is provided, and the information transmitting means refers to this to transmit request information as many times as necessary, thereby making it possible to give flexibility to the redundancy of the functional subsystem. Function distribution system information transmission method. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the information division data of the transmission information is provided in the header part of the transmission information format, and the information receiving means determines whether or not to pass the received information to the application program of its own computer. Finally, a function-distributed system information transmission method characterized in that it is possible to support various operation modes by passing the received data to the application program only when the operation mode of the own computer and this information division data match. . 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein an operating mode storing means for storing the operating mode of each computer of the functional subsystem is provided outside the computer, and the computer reads the stored contents of the operating mode storing means. A function-distributed system information transmission method characterized by improving reliability of the entire system by providing an operation mode reading means and loosely coupling between the functional subsystem computer and the operation mode storage means.