JPH09107387A - Protocol conversion gateway system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the development efficiency of a gateway related to buildup of a distribution processing system by using the gateway having a minimum processing logic so as to conduct communication protocol conversion. SOLUTION: In the case of converting a protocol to which a communication test corresponds one to one, a first text A1204 is given to a gateway 201 from a protocol A. A general-purpose conversion logic in the gateway 201 receives a conversion table to set an after-transition state and an after-protocol conversion communication text to be a state S1 and a text B1205 in response to the combination between the received communication text and the current state. Then the current state of the gateway 201 is transited to the state S1 to generate the text B1205 and it is outputted to a protocol B. Similarly, when a text B2206 is received from the protocol B in the state S1, the conversion table is used to set the state an the text to be a state S2 and a text A 3207 to transit the gateway 201 to be the state S2, the text A 3207 is generated and outputted to the protocol B. Thus, proper protocol conversion is conducted by the gateway 201.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a protocol conversion gateway system, and more particularly to a plurality of computers or CPUs for inputting / outputting data by different protocols.
The present invention relates to a protocol conversion gateway system for connecting to each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of devices such as a computer and a CPU are connected to each other via a communication means and operated, data possessed by each device can be accessed from each other.
It is necessary to match the communication protocol between each device in advance. Therefore, in general, a group of devices forming one distributed processing system are often connected to each other on the assumption that they access each other by the same communication protocol.

On the other hand, in order to connect computers and CPUs having different communication protocols from the beginning to operate as a distributed processing system, there are roughly two types of methods. That is, a method of operating after changing the communication program of one device to one that performs communication processing with the same protocol as the communication partner device, and a method of operating while converting the communication protocol for each created communication message Is.

The method (1) is used for the reason that work for changing the interface between the application and the communication program occurs, and that there is not always a usable communication program. There is a problem that it is often difficult to connect an existing system. The method for this is to provide an existing system by installing a program or device called a gateway, which is dedicated to protocol conversion, between two devices that connect to each other and have different protocols. This method is often used because the impact is minimized.

In the above-mentioned gateway, it is necessary to prepare a protocol conversion processing logic inside the apparatus in advance, and usually the contents of such a conversion processing logic are often fixed. To enable connection with multiple types of communication partners with different communication protocols and character code systems, prepare the conversion processing logic for each communication partner in advance in the device, and Operate while switching the conversion processing logic that is executed.

As a technique similar to these gateways,
JP-A-4-162163 and JP-A-4-29975
8 and the like. They are,
This is a method of providing conversion processing logic in advance on one of the computers or CPUs that are going to be connected to each other.
It is said that the implementation of the conversion processing logic is not specifically mentioned, or that the conversion processing logic of each protocol engine is fixedly included in the conversion target protocol.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since it is necessary to include conversion processing logic in advance for each conversion target protocol, if the types of conversion target protocols are increased, the processing logic of the entire gateway will be changed. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to improve the development efficiency of the gateway including the operation test.

Further, when converting a general-purpose communication protocol by a gateway, the communication messages before and after conversion do not always correspond one-to-one. For example, some communication messages based on the communication protocol before conversion are all There is a problem in that it may not be possible to immediately create and transmit a communication message based on the converted communication protocol unless waiting until it is received.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and perform optimal communication protocol conversion processing with a gateway that includes only a minimum of processing logic, and develop the efficiency of the gateway related to the construction of a distributed processing system. (EN) Provided is a protocol conversion gateway system capable of improving the above.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the protocol conversion gateway system of the present invention comprises:
In a protocol conversion gateway system for connecting and operating a plurality of computer resources, each of which inputs and outputs data by different communication protocols, through a predetermined communication means, a first communication protocol according to an applied conversion logic. A conversion engine unit for converting a communication message based on the second communication protocol into a communication message based on the second communication protocol, and at least one or more combinations of the first and second communication protocols, from the first communication protocol to the A conversion rule definition unit that defines a protocol conversion rule for the second communication protocol in advance, and a specific protocol conversion rule is selected from the conversion rule definition unit according to the system state or an instruction from the outside. The conversion corresponding to the protocol conversion rule for the conversion engine unit A conversion rule selection application unit to apply the logic is obtained by a configuration in which the.

The conversion rule definition unit stores a standard conversion table that defines in advance standard protocol conversion rules determined only by a combination of the first and second communication protocols, and the first and the second conversion protocols. And a special conversion template in which a special protocol conversion rule determined in accordance with a specific business process executed while converting the second communication protocol is defined in advance.

Furthermore, the conversion rule defining unit stores an exception processing conversion table that predefines a protocol conversion rule assuming an exceptional event that cannot be defined in either the standard conversion table or the special conversion template. The conversion rule selection application unit is configured to apply the conversion logic corresponding to the protocol conversion rule in the conversion table for exception processing to the conversion engine unit when the exception event occurs. .

With the above configuration, the load on the resources held by each computer resource is reduced and the combination of new communication protocols and business processing can be performed with only one conversion engine unit having a minimum processing logic. add to·
Even if there is a change, it can be dealt with by adding / changing the standard conversion table or special conversion template in the conversion rule definition part, so the gateway that contains only the minimum processing logic performs the optimum communication protocol conversion process, It is possible to easily improve the development efficiency of the gateway related to the construction of the distributed processing system.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a protocol conversion gateway system of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a protocol conversion gateway system of the present invention. 101 is a gateway, 102 is a conversion engine section, 103 is a conversion rule selection application section, and 104 is a conversion. Rule definition part, 105, 106 are communication control parts, 107, 10
8 is a communication path.

In FIG. 1, different types of protocol A are used.
The gateway 101 is provided between the communication path 107 of No. 1 and the communication path 108 of Protocol B, and the communication based on each Protocol A and B is performed via each communication control unit 105, 106. In the conversion rule definition unit 104, the conversion rules of the protocol at this time are defined as conversion tables and conversion templates as shown in, for example, FIGS. 4 to 7 (“standard conversion table” and “special conversion” in claims). Corresponds to "template", "exception conversion table", etc.). Therefore, a specific protocol conversion process is realized by selecting any of the information defined in the conversion rule definition unit 104 by the conversion rule selection application unit and applying it to the conversion engine unit 102. In this protocol conversion processing, the output message is determined according to the flow of both protocols to be converted and the combination of the state of the gateway 101 and the input message.

In the prior art, the above-mentioned protocol conversion processing is incorporated in the gateway as detailed processing logic different for each combination of protocols, and specific protocol conversion is performed based on each judgment sentence and incorporated state transition table. I was going. On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, without preparing the processing logic for performing each unique operation,
Only general-purpose processing logic is prepared, and individual specific protocol conversion operations can be realized simply by giving conversion rules in a conversion table or conversion template.

FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing protocol conversion by the system of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically showing a flow of protocol conversion processing by the system of FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a definition example of a protocol conversion rule in the above system. Below, the communication message is 1
A first specific example of the simplest protocol conversion corresponding to the pair 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

When the gateway 201 receives the protocol information indicating that the protocols to be converted are "protocol A (202)" and "protocol B (203)" (step 301 = Yes), the protocol information concerned. (Step 302), and after selecting the protocol conversion table (FIG. 4) in which the information indicating the conversion rule between protocols A and B is stored (step 30)
3), the gateway 201 is in the initial state (“state I (idl
e) ”) is set (step 304).

When the first communication message ("Message A1 (204)") is input from the "Protocol A" side (step 305), the general conversion logic in the gateway 201 applies the conversion table of FIG. Then, the state after the transition according to the combination of the input communication message and the current state and the communication message after the protocol conversion are determined (step 306). In the initial state, the communication message is "Message A1 (2
04) ”and the current state is“ state I (idle) ”.
Based on the above, the state after transition is determined to be “state S1”, and the communication message after protocol conversion is determined to be “message B1 (205)”. Therefore, the current state of the gateway 201 is changed to "state S1" (step 307) and there is a communication message to be output (step 308 = Ye).
s), after creating "telegram B1 (205)" and outputting it to the "protocol B" side (steps 309 and 310), the process returns to step 305.

Similarly to the above, when the "protocol B" side inputs "telegram B2 (206)" while the gateway 201 is in "state S1" (step 305),
The conversion table of FIG. 4 is applied, the state after transition is "state S2", and the communication message after protocol conversion is "message A3".
(207) ”(step 306). Then, the current state of the gateway 201 is transited to “state S2” (step 307), and there is a communication message to be output (step 308 = Yes), so “message A3 (2
07) ”and outputs it to the“ protocol A ”side (steps 309 and 310), and then returns to step 305.

Next, a second specific example of protocol conversion in which communication messages correspond to one-to-many or many-to-many will be described with reference to FIGS.

The gateway receives protocol information indicating that the protocols to be converted are "protocol C" and "protocol D" (step 30).
1 = Yes), the protocol information is read (step 302), and the protocol conversion table (FIG. 5) in which the information indicating the conversion rule between the protocols C and D is stored (step 303), and the gateway is initialized. Set state (“state I (idle)”) (step 30)
4).

After that, when the "protocol C" side inputs "telegram C3" as a communication telegram when the gateway is in "state S1" (step 305), the conversion table of FIG. Later state is "state S2"
On the other hand, the communication message after the protocol conversion is determined to be "(none)" (step 306). Therefore, when the current state of the gateway is changed to "state S2" (step 307), there is no communication message to be output (step 308 = No), so the step 30 is left as it is.
Return to 5. Then, when "telegram C4" is input as a communication telegram from the "protocol C" side (step 305),
When the conversion table of FIG. 5 is applied, the state after transition is “state I (idle)”, and the communication message after protocol conversion is “message D”.
2 ”(step 306). Therefore, the current state of the gateway is changed to "state I (idle)" (step 307), and there is a communication message to be output (step 308 = Yes), so "message D2" is created and "protocol D" is set. ”Side (steps 309, 31
0), and returns to step 305. That is, "Telegram C3"
Only by inputting two types of "Telegram C4" from the "Protocol C" side, the gateway transits from "State S1" to "State I (idle)" and one "Telegram D2" It is output to the "Protocol D" side.

As described above, the gateway for protocol conversion is given only the function of executing general-purpose processing logic, and is specified by various parameters and definition information when the gateway is started at the start of protocol conversion. Alternatively, by selecting and applying the above-mentioned conversion table according to the user's designated operation or the connection partner at the time of starting the gateway or after the gateway is started, appropriate protocol conversion processing has a fixed conversion rule processing logic. Easy to implement with no gateway.

A third specific example of another protocol conversion will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 6 and 7. This is a case where the protocol conversion between the protocols E and F is performed similarly to the above-described first and second specific examples. In FIG. 6, the protocol conversion rules are set for all possible combinations of input messages and states. The defined conversion table is shown in FIG. 7 as a conversion template in which a protocol conversion rule is defined for a combination of an input message and a state in a business process assuming that no "message E3" and "message F3" are used as communication messages. , Respectively. That is, in the case of the above-mentioned business processing, "telegram E3" and "telegram F"
3 ”and“ state S3 ”related thereto are not required to be considered, and it is sufficient to use the contents of the conversion template of FIG. 7 which is a part of the conversion table of FIG. 6 as the conversion rule.

As described above, in the case of a normal gateway device having a fixed processing logic, all input messages and states necessary for protocol conversion are recognized and then operated according to all conversion rules. On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, by applying an appropriate conversion template according to each business process, it is possible to optimize the protocol conversion process without modifying the processing logic in the gateway. Can be realized. In addition, the conversion template can be changed during business processing, and various conversion templates corresponding to various operation modes and exception processing modes can be prepared in advance to switch the operation mode during business processing and to perform normal processing. It is also possible to perform a transition operation from to exception processing. By doing so, the processing of each operation mode, the normal processing, the exception processing, and the like can be developed separately, and each processing can be efficiently developed.

[0028]

As described in detail above, according to the protocol conversion gateway system of the present invention, the load on the resources possessed by each computer resource can be reduced by the single conversion engine unit having the minimum processing logic. In addition, even if a new communication protocol combination or business process addition / change occurs, it can be dealt with by adding / changing the standard conversion table or special conversion template in the conversion rule definition part, so the minimum processing logic. It is possible to obtain the effect that the optimum communication protocol conversion processing is performed by the gateway including only the gateway, and the development efficiency of the gateway related to the construction of the distributed processing system can be easily improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an exemplary embodiment of a protocol conversion gateway system of the present invention.

2 is a diagram conceptually showing protocol conversion by the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically showing the flow of protocol conversion processing by the system of FIG.

4 is a diagram showing a definition example (part 1) of a protocol conversion rule in the system of FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a definition example (No. 2) of a protocol conversion rule in the system of FIG.

6 is a diagram showing a definition example (part 3) of a protocol conversion rule in the system of FIG.

7 is a diagram showing a definition example (No. 4) of a protocol conversion rule in the system of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 gateway 102 conversion engine unit 103 conversion rule selection application unit 104 conversion rule definition unit 105, 106 communication control unit 107, 108 communication path

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A protocol conversion gateway system for operating a plurality of computer resources, each of which inputs and outputs data by different communication protocols, connected to each other via a predetermined communication means, according to a conversion logic applied. A conversion engine unit for converting a communication message based on the first communication protocol into a communication message based on the second communication protocol; and at least one or more combinations of the first and second communication protocols, the first Conversion rule definition unit for predefining a protocol conversion rule from the second communication protocol to the second communication protocol, and a specific protocol conversion rule from the conversion rule definition unit according to a system state or an instruction from the outside. Select to match the protocol conversion rule to the conversion engine section. A protocol conversion gateway system, characterized in that a conversion rule selection and application section for applying the corresponding conversion logic is provided. 2. The conversion rule definition unit includes a standard conversion table that defines in advance standard protocol conversion rules that are determined only by a combination of the first and second communication protocols, and the first and second conversion tables. 2. A special conversion template in which a special protocol conversion rule determined in advance according to a specific business process executed while converting the communication protocol No. 2 is defined in advance. 1. The protocol conversion gateway system according to 1. 3. The conversion rule definition unit has an exception processing conversion table that predefines a protocol conversion rule assuming an exceptional event that cannot be defined in either the standard conversion table or the special conversion template. The conversion rule selection applying unit applies the conversion logic corresponding to the protocol conversion rule in the exception processing conversion table to the conversion engine unit when the exception event occurs. 2. The protocol conversion gateway system described in 2.