JPH10308819A - Automatic exchange method and configuration method for automatic exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the automatic exchange method and the configuration method for automatic exchange with high reliability and immunity to congestion by configurating or re-configurating a system economically and easily flexibly. SOLUTION: Functions of a conventional main control section are shared by a puraly of automonous processing function groups (e.g. 10, 20, 30) each automonotus processing function group makes jobs specific to the automonous processing function all complete such that the automonous processing function receives automonously a control message relating to an atutomonous processing function section (message communication section 103), processes the function denoted by the message (service function section 101), updates data depending on the processing result (function control section 102) and edits a message to be sent to a succeeding automonous processing function section (message memory section 104). Each automonous processing function section (11, 12, 21-2N, 31-3N) is independently of each other and independent of a surrounding environment. Furthermore, each automonous processing function section is made up of sets of plural function sections.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic exchange method and an automatic exchange configuration method in which a plurality of autonomous processing function sections share and process each function of exchange processing in which functions are divided. The present invention relates to a highly reliable automatic exchange method and an automatic exchange configuration method that can be constructed economically and flexibly according to environmental conditions or services when constructing an automatic exchange.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional automatic switching system includes a bus connection,
It is composed of a channel function unit that performs signal processing and service response, and a main control unit that controls the channel function unit according to service conditions. In such a conventional automatic switching system, the main control unit manages the occupancy of the communication path function unit in a series of processes of the switching system,
It performs centralized route control and redundant configuration control for multi-stage connections. Specifically, it reads or receives line status and generated event information from the channel function unit by polling, etc. Various controls related to exchange control, such as securing necessary functions of the communication path system function unit to be performed and instructing necessary operations, are intensively performed.
Further, the communication path system function unit performs necessary operations in accordance with an instruction from the main control unit via polling or message communication. In addition, many of the conventional distributed control type exchanges attempt to distribute the load, and no function distribution that makes the internal functions of one exchange independent is observed.

[0003]

According to the above prior art, as described above, since the various processes of the switching system are centrally managed by the main control unit, the overall processing capacity is equal to the capacity of the main control unit. And the congestion state is likely to occur, which may result in a delay in processing. In addition, it is necessary to adopt a redundant configuration such as a redundant configuration for important devices in the switching system. However, according to the above-described conventional technology, the communication path function unit is configured to operate under the control of the main control unit. Therefore, when adding a new service, it is necessary to fundamentally review the entire system configuration from the system management of the main control unit, and the range of influence is large, and it is easy to upgrade the version such as adding a new service etc. And it was not flexible.

Further, in the above-mentioned prior art, even if the cost is reduced by simplifying and minimizing the communication path function unit, the cost of the common part such as the main control unit is high. There was a limit to the construction, and an economic system could not be constructed. An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem and disperse the functions so that the processing capacity does not depend on the capacity of the main control unit, so that system construction or system restructuring can be performed economically and easily and flexibly. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic switching method and an automatic switching device configuration method which can be performed and are highly resistant to congestion and highly reliable.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic exchange method according to the present invention distributes the work of a conventional main control unit to a plurality of autonomous processing function units, and performs a task in each autonomous processing function unit. Autonomously fetches and processes control messages related to the autonomous processing function from the preceding autonomous processing function, updates the data according to the processing result, and edits the message to be sent to the next autonomous processing function. It is characterized in that all tasks unique to the processing function unit are completed. Each autonomous function unit is independent, and is characterized by being independent of the surrounding environment. It is also characterized in that the autonomous processing function unit is constituted by a group of function units which are further divided.

More specifically, the automatic exchange method of the present invention is an automatic exchange method in which the exchange process is divided into functions and processed by a plurality of autonomous processing function units. For example, each processing of 11 to 12)
A step of detecting an event from a subscriber line or a line (steps 50 and 51 in FIG. 3) or a step of receiving message communication as control information from a preceding autonomous processing function unit (eg, 21 to 2N) (step 6).
0, 61), a step of autonomously referring to the subscriber information in the common database as necessary for the function shared by the autonomous processing function unit and performing a service process (the same step 70), and a result of the process. (Step 8) that edits the message and the next control request as a message and transfers it to the subsequent autonomous processing function unit (for example, 31 to 3M) as control information.
0). Further, the automatic switching system configuration method of the present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned autonomous processing function units are arranged in parallel in a load distribution type, or are connected in series and in parallel in a function distribution type. According to the method of the present invention, since each autonomous processing function unit performs control of path connection, signal processing, service response, and the like in the switching process by activating an event from the preceding autonomous processing function unit, a conventional main processing unit is used. Centralized control by the control unit becomes unnecessary. Further, since the number and type of the autonomous processing function units can be freely adjusted according to the environment, the system can be easily constructed or reconfigured.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (1) Configuration Example of Autonomous Processing Function Unit FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an internal configuration of the autonomous processing function unit and a connection configuration between the autonomous processing function units for realizing the automatic exchange method of the present invention. is there. In the figure, an autonomous processing function unit (11) of the present embodiment constituting a distributed exchange includes a service function unit (101), a function control unit (102), a message communication unit (103), and a message memory unit (10).
4). Autonomous processing function unit (11)
Are connected in parallel with an autonomous processing function unit (12) having the same processing function, and constitute a multiplexed autonomous processing function group (10). The autonomous processing function group (10) includes an autonomous processing function group (20) including autonomous processing function units (21 to 2N) configured similarly and an autonomous processing function unit including autonomous processing function units (31 to 3M). It is connected in series with the group (30). The functions of the respective autonomous processing function groups are different from each other, and the number of the autonomous processing function units constituting each autonomous processing function group is arbitrary. Etc. Each autonomous processing function unit is independent and does not depend on others. Therefore, different autonomous processing function units can be assembled in parallel. For example,
If two types of exchanges that provide different services can be realized by a combination of the same type of autonomous processing function unit except for one type of autonomous processing function unit, different types of autonomous processing function units are connected in parallel. A system configuration that shares the autonomous processing function units that can be held and shared becomes possible. Hereinafter, the function and operation of the autonomous processing function unit (11) will be described in detail, but the other autonomous processing function units perform similar functions and operations.

In the autonomous processing function unit (11), the service function unit (101) is an exchange component that directly executes a functional unit constituting a main information exchange process. Specifically, the following functional conditions are provided. (A) Receive control from the function control unit (102). (B) As a service function unit input interface, a mechanism for receiving a switching processing request from an external interface, for example, monitoring an external interface such as a subscriber line or a trunk line to be accommodated, detecting an event such as a call, and performing line termination processing. Have a mechanism to do. (C) As the internal processing mechanism of the service function unit, it executes functional unit processing constituting exchange processing such as time slot exchange and signal protocol termination. (D) The service function unit has a mechanism for transmitting a processing result to an external interface such as a subscriber line or a trunk line to be accommodated as an output interface.

The function control unit (102) interprets start information based on an event from the service function unit (101) or a state and control request message from the preceding function unit received from the message communication unit (103). A mechanism for reading data necessary for control from a database unit (40) for commonly managing subscriber information and line information if necessary, and a service function unit (1) for processing these data.
01) and the contents of the database unit are updated with the processing result, and the autonomous processing function group (3
0), and edits the message to the message memory (1
04). Function control unit (1
02) includes, for example, a microprocessor, a program / data memory, a processor peripheral circuit, a bus control circuit, a database access circuit, and the like, as shown in FIG.

[0010] The message communication unit (103), in accordance with the request of the function control unit (102), comprises a plurality of autonomous processing function units (21 to 2) constituting a plurality of preceding autonomous processing function groups (20).
A mechanism for polling the message memory section of N), exclusively taking in control messages, and transferring them to the function control section (102). The message memory unit (104)
It manages control messages to the subsequent autonomous processing function group (30) registered from the function control section (102), and has exclusive access to polling from the subsequent autonomous processing function sections (31 to 3M). And a mechanism that allows

(2) Description of redundant and additional configuration. As described above, each of the autonomous processing function units (11, 12) constituting the autonomous processing function group (10) includes a plurality of autonomous processing units having the same function constituting the preceding autonomous processing function group (20). The function units (21) to (2N) are connected in series to a plurality of autonomous processing function units (31) to (3M) having the same function and constituting a subsequent autonomous processing function group (30) (each stage). The functions of the autonomous processing function units are different from each other,
That is, a function distribution type).

As described above, in the configuration of this embodiment,
A plurality of autonomous processing function units having the same function will be connected to a subsequent stage to one autonomous processing function unit at the preceding stage, and if one of the autonomous processing function units at the subsequent stage fails, it is not used. Alternatively, another autonomous processing function unit having the same function can be used instead (load distribution type). In this embodiment, by adopting such a redundant configuration,
Even when a failure occurs, it is possible to avoid stopping the exchange processing function. In addition, the number of autonomous processing function units can be freely reduced or added according to the processing content, performance, scale, and importance, thereby enabling efficient load distribution.

(3) Description of starting of processing by message communication. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of an autonomous processing function distributed type automatic switching system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each of the autonomous processing function units serving as constituent elements includes a subscriber accommodating unit A, a concentrator B, The figure shows a case where the system comprises a unit C, a signal communication unit D, a signal processing unit E, and a relay connection unit F. In the figure, the service function unit in each autonomous processing function unit is a respective autonomous processing function unit (subscriber accommodating unit A, line concentrator B,
The distribution unit C, the signal communication unit D, the signal processing unit E, and the relay system connection unit F) correspond to the portion indicated by a frame (101). FIG.
4 is a flowchart example of the autonomous processing function unit of the present invention.

The function control unit of the autonomous processing function unit is, for example,
In addition to the event activation (steps 50 and 51 in FIG. 3) from the constituent service function unit (101), such as the detection of a call of the line corresponding unit in the subscriber accommodation unit A, the autonomous processing function in the preceding stage The process is started by message communication from the section (steps 60 and 61) (step 7).
0). Specifically, the service function unit under control (101)
, And scanning of the message reception notification from the message communication unit (103) is periodically performed, and necessary processing (step 70) is started according to the scanning result. The result of the processing in step 70 and the next control request are edited as a message and taken over to the subsequent autonomous processing function unit (step 8
0).

(4) Connection between Function Units The connection between the autonomous processing function units is performed by storing the contents of the message memory unit (104) of the preceding autonomous processing function unit (eg, 21) and the subsequent autonomous processing function unit (eg, 21). , 11) is realized by autonomous reading by the message communication unit (103). Specifically, the autonomous processing function unit (2
The message communication from the first autonomous processing function unit (11) to the subsequent autonomous processing function unit (11) is performed by the message communication unit (103) of the preceding autonomous processing function unit (11). 104) exclusively polls another autonomous processing function unit (eg, 12) in which the function of the self-autonomous processing function unit (eg, 11) is load-balanced, and directs it to its own autonomous processing function. Get one of the message communications and start the process. In addition, by performing polling only when the self-autonomous processing function has sufficient processing time, it is possible to prevent itself from becoming overloaded and congested, and as a result, appropriate load distribution is possible. become.

Further, when a failure of the self-autonomous processing function unit is detected or a notification to that effect is received, the self-autonomous processing function unit degenerates its own function and stops the processing. Does not need to know the status of the subsequent autonomous processing function unit (irrespective of the status of the subsequent autonomous processing function unit), and independently (closes itself) of its own processing function
Processing can be continued. In addition, although the message of the former stage is obtained from the autonomous processing function unit of the subsequent stage, the message to the latter stage is not prepared as a result of the suspension of the process, so that the function of its own function is executed in the same manner as the process when there is no communication message Processing can be continued.

According to the automatic exchange method of the present invention, the work of the conventional main control unit is distributed to a plurality of autonomous processing function units, and they are loosely connected to each other. Tasks unique to the autonomous processing function, such as selectively capturing and processing only control messages related to the autonomous processing function, updating data according to the processing result, and editing messages to be sent to the next autonomous processing function. By making everything complete within it,
Each autonomous processing function unit can proceed with control such as path connection of exchange processing, signal processing, service response, etc. by starting an event from the preceding autonomous processing function unit, and centralized control by the conventional main control unit This eliminates the need and improves reliability against failures. Furthermore, since centralized control by the conventional main control unit is not required, the number and type of autonomous processing function units can be freely adjusted according to the environment, and it is rich in flexibility.
Congestion countermeasures are also facilitated, the capacity can be optimized to the required amount, and system construction or reconfiguration is facilitated. In addition, since the processing capacity of the exchange does not depend on the capacity of the main controller, it is easy to upgrade the version of the autonomous processing function unit.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, (a) the processing capacity of the exchange does not depend on the capacity of the main controller. (B) It is resistant to congestion because it can be of a load distribution type. (C) Since the independence can be maintained between the autonomous processing function units by loose coupling, the reliability is high. (D) The autonomous processing function unit can flexibly construct equipment according to the service. (E) Equipment can be constructed economically according to the locality. (F) It is easy to upgrade each autonomous processing function unit. It has various advantages and effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an autonomous processing function unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an autonomous processing function distributed type automatic exchange system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart example of the autonomous processing function unit of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20, 30: Autonomous processing function group 11 to 11, 21 to 2N, 31 to 3M: Autonomous processing function unit 101: Service function unit 102: Function control unit 103: Message communication unit 104: Message memory unit 40: Database Department

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic switching method in which a switching process is divided into a plurality of functions and divided and processed by a plurality of autonomous processing function units, wherein each of the autonomous processing function units processes an event from a subscriber line or a line. The step of detecting or taking over message communication as control information from the preceding autonomous processing function unit, and the function of sharing the processing by the autonomous processing function unit, as necessary. , And a step of editing the result of the processing and the next control request as a message and passing it as control information to a subsequent autonomous processing function unit. 2. An automatic switching system configuration method, wherein the autonomous processing function units according to claim 1 are arranged in parallel in a load distribution type, or are connected in series and in parallel in a function distribution type.