JPH08190477A - Method for actualizing communication network operation scenario, and generating method and executing method for its program - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily and automatically generate and execute a communication network operation scenario actualizing program, which actualizes the scenario for communication network operation, without using any programming language. CONSTITUTION: The communication network operation scenario actualizing program in which the scenario of the communication operation is described is generated by using objects wherein commands are defined as a scenario describing method and attributes by a specific necessary syntax notation method, and then recorded in a scenario description file 13. The generated communication network operation scenario actualizing program is read out of the scenario description file 13 and the objects which actualize the scenario are restored and executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic generation and execution method of a scenario realization program in a communication network operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Communication network operation is to generate commands between a manager and an agent and realize them. Here, the manager is the network management module on the side that manages the management target necessary for communication, and the agent is the network management module on the side to be managed.

FIG. 10 shows CMIP protocol and SNMP.
An example of communication network operation using a protocol is shown.
CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol)
Is a protocol for OSI management by ISO. Data exchange by CMIP is based on the assumption that all seven layers of OSI are implemented. As a CMIP command, (1) GET: get management information, (2) SET: set management information to a specified value, (3) CREATE: create management information, (4) DELETET: management information Delete, (5) ACTION: Perform predefined actions on management information, (6) EVENT-REPORT: Notify an abnormality as an event, (7) CANCEL-GET: GET performed immediately before To cancel.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Pro
is a protocol standardized as a simple network management protocol. The specifications are RFC1157
Is defined in. Information operation by SNMP includes (1) GET: obtains the value of management information, (2) SET: sets the management information to a specified value, (3) GETNEXT: from the system (order) of management information,
The next item of the specified management information is acquired. (4) TRAP: Abnormality is notified as an event.

Communication network operations use commands in these protocols to implement operations related to communication networks. The scenario realization program is a program that shows a combination of commands in a communication network operation and realizes an operation scenario.

A program for realizing a scenario in a communication network operation has conventionally been performed by creating the program using a programming language prepared for each system.

The method of creating an existing program is as follows. (1) ASN1 attribute necessary for executing a command required for operation is created by a program. (2) Create a program that sends a request using the ASN1 attribute. (3) Create a comparison program that determines the next operation from the obtained confirm (response). (4) The above (1) to (3) are repeated. (5) Compile. (6) Execute.

ASN1 (Abstract Syntax Notati
on One) is an abstract syntax notation standardized by CCITT and ISO. These references include:
There are the following: (1) -SNMP and CMIP-TCP / IP and OSI
Network Management Hisao Ohgane SRC Handbook ISBN 4-915778-
21-5 (2) Introduction to TCP / IP network management Aiming at practical management MT Rose by Takeshi Nishida Toppan ISBN 4-810
1-8521-4

[0009]

The prior art has the following problems. (1) It is necessary to realize all operations in programming. (2) Compile and link work is required to execute the scenario realization program. (3) The reusability of the program is low. (4) The development period of the scenario implementation program varies depending on the programming ability. (5) The method of creating a program differs greatly depending on the implementation system.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 10 is a processing device including a CPU and a memory, 11 is a scenario realization program creating unit for creating a communication network operation scenario realization program, and 12 is a scenario realization program execution for executing the created communication network operation scenario realization program. Reference numeral 13 denotes a scenario description file that stores the created communication network operation scenario implementation program.

According to the present invention, a scenario realization program creating unit 11 creates a communication network operation scenario realization program by using an object in which a command is defined in a scenario description method for executing a scenario and an attribute by an abstract syntax notation required for the object. Storing in the scenario description file 13 and the scenario realization program execution unit 1
The main feature is that the communication network operation scenario implementation program is read from the scenario description file 13 according to 2 and the object defining the command is executed.

[0012]

The basic operation of the manager program is shown in FIG. The network management module that manages the communication network
Repeat the following operations. (1) Send a request to the managed object. (2) Receive a confirm (response) obtained from the result. (3) Determine the next operation from the confirm. (4) The above (1) to (3) are repeated.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art, in the present invention, attention is paid to the fact that the scenario realizing program in the communication network operation repeats similar operations as shown in FIG. Implemented as a scenario implementation program.

The use of the present invention has the following effects. (1) A scenario implementation program can be created by describing only the part that implements a communication network operation scenario using the method of the present invention. (2) Since the scenario description file 13 is written in the external storage device, operations such as compiling and linking do not occur. (3) A predetermined abstract syntax notation (for example, A
By using the SN1) attribute, it is possible to express all operations, so reusability is high. (4) Since no programming process is required, there is no difference in development period due to programming. (5) Since the scenario is not created using a programming language, the part that depends on the implementation system is minimal.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, in order to realize the basic operation shown in FIG. 2, for example, a command object as shown in FIG. 3 is defined. This object is an object definition of commands prepared for communication network operations. Even if a command is added in the future, the present invention can be applied by adding an object corresponding to the added command. FIG. 3 (A) uses CMIP as the protocol, and FIG. 3 (B) uses the SNMP protocol.

An example of the defined object class and its attributes is shown in FIG. The objects in CMIP are
4A has attributes as shown in FIG. 4A, and an object in SNMP has attributes as shown in FIG. 4B.

FIG. 5 shows a method of describing a communication network operation scenario realization program using these objects and recording the description in the scenario description file 13 of the external storage device.

(1) Method for Creating Communication Network Operation Scenario Realization Program The method for creating a communication network operation scenario realization program is as shown in FIG. Based on the scenario of communication network operation, the command to realize the scenario is extracted. A selector object (hereinafter referred to as Selector object) for virtually generating a command object corresponding to the command, setting the ASN1 attribute required for the object, and comparing the results obtained by executing the command ) Is virtually generated. At the same time, it sets the pointer of the Selector object to the pointer of the command object. Set the ASN1 attribute (judgment value of comparison abstract syntax attribute (Filter)) to be compared in the Selector object. At the same time, the pointer to the object of the Selector object is set to the pointer of the command object to be executed next. These operations are repeated until the communication network operation scenario is satisfied.

The pointer to the command object of each command object is the starting point for executing the scenario. Once the scenario implementation program that satisfies the communication network operation scenario has been created,
Objects in which these object attributes and their relationships are shown are recorded in the external storage device as the scenario description file 13.

The above-described object generation, ANS1 attribute setting, and object connection relation setting are described later in G.
It can be done by mouse operation by UI. Therefore, for example, the type of ANS1 is iconized. Therefore, the communication network operation scenario realizing program can be generated without using a programming language.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a method of reading those descriptions from the external storage device and executing them. (2) Communication network operation scenario implementation program execution method The communication network operation scenario implementation program execution method is as shown in FIG. The scenario description file 13 created by the communication network operation scenario implementation program creation method described above is read from the external storage device.

From the scenario description file 13, the command object, the Selector object, their attributes and the relationships between these objects are restored. The communication network operation scenario implementation program starts execution at the scenario execution start point described in the scenario of the communication network operation scenario implementation program, and ends after all scenarios have been executed.

FIG. 7 shows an environment for creating a communication network operation scenario realizing program in this embodiment. With the system shown in FIG. 7, a communication network operation scenario implementation program is actually created using the command object of the present invention.

The GUI development tool 21 includes a display,
It is a tool having a function of assisting mouse operation by an icon, especially in inputting / outputting with the input / output device 20 such as a mouse and a keyboard. As the GUI development tool 21, an existing commercially available tool can be used. The GUI development tool 21 has a GUI component 22 created in an object-oriented language. A mouse-based graphical method is used to design the GUI. An object-oriented language that allows dynamic binding (for example, Objectiv
By using e-C), the behavior of the GUI program can be determined not at compile time but at run time.

Further, the GUI development tool 21 has a framework in which a user creates a class library and freely embeds it in the development tool. Therefore, when the user newly adds a class library, only the operation required for the component is described in the class library, and there is no need to prepare a setting program or the like regarding other GUI attributes.

The GUI created by the GUI development tool 21 is stored in the external storage device as a GUI design description file. If you want to change the GUI
This is done by reading the UI design description file.
The scenario description file 13 is stored by the same method as the GUI design description file.

The GUI component 22 is called a GUI class library, and this operating system (OS)
All of the GUI parts used in are defined. Also, because it is written in an object-oriented language, users can add functions freely. Further, this GUI class library can archive (store) the attributes of each component by itself, and has a mechanism for storing various attributes of the GUI set by the GUI development tool 21. At the time of execution, similarly, by restoring based on the attribute archived by itself, the state designed by using the GUI development tool 21 can be restored.

Tool 23 for creating a scenario description file
Is for setting the framework and various attributes for embedding the command object library in the GUI development tool 21. The scenario description file creation tool 23 mainly takes charge of an attribute setting portion not provided in the GUI development tool 21, for example, an attribute of the newly added ANS1 or the like.

The command object library 24 is
A library of objects that represent commands, written in an object-oriented language. Similar to GUI class library, command object specific AN
It has a framework for archiving (storing) S1 attributes etc. by itself. The mechanism of archiving and unarchiving is
It is similar to the GUI class library. Also, each command object has an instance that indicates the connection relationship between the command objects.

The HMI tool 25 for manipulating abstract syntax information is
It is a tool for setting numerical values (information) in the abstract syntax information defined by the abstract syntax, and at the same time has a management information class library that is essential for them. This HMI tool 25 for manipulating abstract syntax information is described, for example, in the following reference document, and ANS1 in the command object is used.
It is a tool for setting attributes.

[References] Tojo, Yoda, Yada, Shimizu:
"Construction of HMI toolkit for operating common management information", IEICE CS93-42, OCS93-18 (1993-05) The management information storage unit 26 is a management target operated by a communication network operation. All managed objects that are operated in the operation scenario are defined and stored.

The communication network management module 27 is a module for operating the management target through the communication network. In order to communicate with all management targets connected to the communication network, it has a plurality of layers and is created to reduce inconsistencies due to differences in hardware, OS, etc. as much as possible.

The scenario description file 13 stores the connection relationships and various attributes of the command object created by the method shown in FIG. The scenario description file 13 can be considered as an object-oriented database that stores the execution sequence of operation scenarios. The instance tree and the instance attributes of the objects created on the GUI development tool 21 are stored. The scenario description file 13 is GU
This is the same as the GUI design description file created by the I development tool 21.

FIG. 8 shows a communication network operation scenario realization program execution environment in this embodiment. Based on the scenario description file 13 created by the system shown in FIG. 7, the scenario of the communication network operation is executed in the execution environment shown in FIG. The communication network management module 27, the GUI component 22, the management information storage unit 26, and the command object library 24 shown in FIG. 8 are the same as those shown in FIG.

Scenario description file execution module 28
Is a module that executes the processing shown in FIG.
The scenario description file 13 created by the system shown in (1) is read and restored to the status created on the GUI development tool 21, and then the communication network operation scenario is actually executed. When a communication request is made from the command object, A set in the command object
A communication command is actually created using the NS1 attribute, and the command is passed to the communication network management module 27. It also receives an event from the communication network and notifies the command object as an ANS1 attribute. The scenario description file execution module 28 includes a scenario program execution module of the main program and an operation scenario execution part.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of the communication network management module 27.
Shown in The HMI interface 30 is a common interface module for handling the GUI component 31 whose management target is defined. Note that this interface itself is not directly related to the present invention. GUI parts 31
Is the same as the commercially available GUI class library. The event handler 32 is a module that collectively manages all events such as a communication network, a mouse, and a keyboard. The MIB (Management Information Base) interface 33 is an interface for operating management information. The scenario description file execution module 28 shown in FIG. 8 operates using the MIB interface 33 when operating the management target.

The communication interface is the security unit 3
4 and a CMIP / SNMP unit 35. The security unit 34 is a module that checks security when operating a management target. The CMIP / SNMP unit 35 is a unit for operating the CMIP / SNMP protocol defined by the standard. When the management target is operated via the communication network, the management target operation command sent by the MIB interface 33 is converted into each communication protocol and sent or received as a bit string to the communication network.

The directory service 36 is a module for collectively managing the management targets distributed in the communication network. Thereby, the position transparency of the management target can be realized. By using the directory service 36, the user can operate the distributed management target as if it were a local management target. The DBMS 37 is a database management system, and is a database system for storing the state of a management target. The application (managed object behavior) 38 is a part that describes the behavior that operates when each unique management target is operated. This part differs for each management target to be created and for each device.

Details of the communication network management module described above are shown in the following references, for example. [References] Yoda, Yada, Fujii: "Proposal of TNMS Kernel-System Core of OpS based on TMN", SI Techniques SSE93-56, IN93-63, CS93-79 (1993-09)

[0040]

By using the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) A scenario implementation program can be created by describing only the part that implements a communication network operation scenario using the method of the present invention. (2) Since the scenario description file is written to the external storage device, work such as compilation and linking does not occur. (3) Since the ASN1 attribute or the like is used in the scenario description, various operations can be expressed, and thus reusability is high. (4) Since no programming process is required, there is no difference in development period due to programming. (5) Since the scenario is not created using a programming language, the part that depends on the implementation system is minimal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a basic operation of a manager program.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a command object in CMIP / SNMP.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an object class and its attributes in CMIP / SNMP.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of creating a communication network operation scenario implementation program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication network operation scenario implementation program execution method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an environment for creating a communication network operation scenario realization program.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a communication network operation scenario realization program execution environment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a communication network management module.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a communication network operation according to the CMIP / SNMP protocol.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Processor 11 Scenario Realization Program Creation Unit 12 Scenario Realization Program Execution Unit 13 Scenario Description File

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A communication network operation scenario realization method for realizing a scenario for operating a communication network operation, wherein an object for which a command is defined as a scenario description method and an attribute by a predetermined syntax notation required therefor are used for the communication network operation. Communication characterized by having a process of generating and recording a communication network operation scenario realizing program describing a scenario and a process of reading the recorded communication network operation scenario realizing program and restoring and executing an object realizing the scenario. Network operation scenario implementation method. 2. A method of creating a communication network operation scenario realizing program for realizing a scenario for operating a communication network operation, comprising a command object corresponding to a command for realizing the scenario based on the scenario of the communication network operation. The process of generating
Create a selector object to compare the process of setting the attribute with the required syntax notation for the object and the result of executing the command,
Linking to the command object, setting the attribute by a predetermined syntax notation to be compared with the generated selector object, and linking the command object to be executed next to the generated selector object, A method for creating a communication network operation scenario realization program, characterized in that a communication network operation scenario realization program satisfying a communication network operation scenario is automatically generated by repeating the process. 3. A method for executing a communication network operation scenario realizing program for realizing a scenario for operating a communication network operation, comprising a command object defined corresponding to a command for realizing a scenario for a communication network operation. Stores a communication network operation scenario implementation program described using selector objects for comparing the results of executing the command, their connection relationship information, and attribute information set in each object by a predetermined syntax notation. And a step of restoring a command object, a selector object, their attributes, and a relationship between those objects from the created scenario description file, and a step of executing the restored object from a predetermined scenario execution start point,
A method for executing a communication network operation scenario realization program, characterized in that a communication network operation scenario realization program is executed by executing a command object and a selector object which are generated in advance.