JPH1117679A - Network monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform communication with a target node and to monitor an object node without performing a special bypass processing, even in the case that a fault is generated in 5 route in the middle by providing a main station node with a setting means for setting a monitoring object node and setting communication route information between the monitoring object node. SOLUTION: Respective nodes 1-6 are provided with a routing means 23 for deciding a communication route, a message storage means 24, a node state monitoring means 22, an inter-node communication means 25 and a network monitoring device communication means 21 and a routing information storage means 26 which functions at the time of becoming a main station. Then, since the main station node 1 is provided with a means for setting the monitoring object node and setting the communication route information between the monitoring object node, the need for setting routing information in a subordinate station is eliminated. Thus, even if one route is interrupted by faults or the like, the main station is able to perform communication with the target node and monitor, the object node.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a network monitoring system in which a network monitoring device connected to one or more nodes in a network monitors the entire network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when monitoring a network, a message is transmitted to a node to be monitored, it is monitored whether a response message is returned from a partner node, and a response message is returned from the node. When the status of the node is received, the state of the node is checked based on the content notified by the response message.

Here, communication between nodes is performed by routing information set in advance in each node. Then, when a failure occurs on an intermediate route, the routing information of the related node is changed to set a bypass route. In this case, a detour route is searched to change the routing information, or spare routing information is set in advance by predicting a failure, and based on the routing information, the route is switched and the target node is monitored. The method has been taken.

[0004]

However, when a failure occurs in the middle of a set route and the route is interrupted, there is a problem that communication with all nodes communicating using the route becomes impossible. Was. In addition, when the network configuration is changed, for example, by adding a node or changing a line connection, there is a problem that the setting of each node needs to be changed. Furthermore, when communication with the target node is interrupted, even if it is a temporary failure, in order to restore communication with the target node, a detour route must be set, and the routing information of the node that corresponds to the route must be rewritten. There was a problem that it became necessary. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to monitor a target node by communicating with a target node without performing a special detour process even when a failure occurs on an intermediate route. Also, such as adding nodes or changing line connections,
It is another object of the present invention to eliminate the need to change the setting of a slave node even when the network configuration is changed.

[0005]

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention is to set routing information only in a main station in a network. In the routing information, a node ID of the monitored node and a communication route with each target node are set. If a plurality of communicable routes exist for one node, all routes are set. When transmitting a message to a node having a plurality of communication routes, the master station transmits the message to all the set routes. The master station has means for monitoring the status of the slave node set in the routing information. The slave station has no routing information,
The command message transmitted from the master station to the destination node is broadcast to a plurality of routes, and the response message returned from the destination node to the master station has a routing means for selecting and transmitting one route. Each node has both a master station function and a slave station function, and has means that can be either of them by an external setting. More specifically, each node includes a routing unit 23 that determines a communication route, a message storage unit 24 that stores received messages for a certain period, and a node status monitoring unit that collects node status and notifies the network monitoring device. 22, inter-node communication means 25 for transmitting and receiving messages between nodes
And a network monitoring device communication unit 21 and a routing information storage unit 26, which function when becoming a master station.

Therefore, a route that can communicate with the monitored node is set in the routing information set in the master station, and the master station assigns all routes to a monitoring node that has a plurality of communicable routes. Send a message. In the slave station, the routing means
If the message originated at the main station is addressed to the own station, the response message is sent to the route that received the command message. In addition, if it is a response message from the destination node, a routing process of transmitting a command message corresponding to the message to a route at the time of receiving the message is performed. Therefore, there is no need to set routing information in the slave station, and when there are a plurality of routes to reach the destination node, communication with the destination node is possible even if one route is interrupted. In addition, since the master station does not perform transmission to a route that is clearly unable to reach the destination node, it is possible to prevent unnecessary messages from leaking. Further, the slave station records the message subjected to the routing process in the message storage unit, and discards the same message that has already been processed when it is received again. This and the routing means for returning the message from the destination node to the master station through only one route can prevent message loops and congestion in the communication path due to an increase in message flow in the network. Also, since the message from the master station is returned from the destination node on the route that arrived first, communication can be performed on the fastest route among a plurality of existing routes.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network to which a network monitoring method according to the present invention is applied. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, a network monitoring device (hereinafter, referred to as an NMS) 10
Is the main station, and the other nodes 2 to
6 is a slave station.

[0008] The routing information shown in FIG. In the routing information, the ID of the slave node from which the master station 1 collects the status and the communicable route with each node are set. If there are a plurality of communicable routes, all the routes are set.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram showing the configuration of the node. Each node includes a node status monitoring means 22 for performing a node status monitoring process, and a routing means 2 for analyzing a received message and determining a message sending route.
3, a message storage means 24 for temporarily recording a transmission / reception message, an inter-node communication means 25 for transmitting / receiving a message to / from a transmission path 27, and a routing information storage means functioning when the node becomes a master station. 26,
Network monitoring device communication means (NMS communication means) 21
Are provided.

Next, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a format of a status monitoring message. The status monitoring message includes a message ID 101, a destination address 102, a transmission source address 103, a message identification number 104, and an information section 105. 3 to 5 are flowcharts showing the operation of each node. The operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the nodes are divided into the case of the master station and the case of the slave station. First, the operation of the master station will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, the node 1 serving as a main station from the NMS 10
, Routing information is set. Upon receiving the routing information from the NMS 10 (step S1 in FIG. 3), the NMS communication unit 21 of the node 1 updates the contents of the routing information storage unit 26 with the received data (step S2 in FIG. 3). Start operation as a station.

The node status monitoring means 22 of the node 1 serving as the master station collects the status of each node set in the routing information storage means 26. Further, the node state monitoring means 22 creates the state monitoring message shown in FIG. 2, requests the routing means 23 to send the message, activates a response waiting timer, and waits for the response message. Here, the address of the partner node is set as the destination address 102 of the message in FIG. 2, and the address of the own station is set as the source address 103 of the message. The message identification number 104 is set by the routing means 23.

The message identification number 104 only needs to be able to uniquely identify the outgoing message in the network, and is transmitted at different times having the same identification number in consideration of the polling cycle of the slave node and the residence time of the message in the network. Is determined so that no messages are mixed. Note that this identification number may be a number in an appropriate range in which the main station 1 increments by +1 for each outgoing message.

The routing means 23 determines a transmission route to the destination node based on the routing information, and requests the inter-node communication means 25 to transmit to the route. If there are a plurality of transmission routes, a request is made to transmit the same message to all the routes. The inter-node communication unit 25 sends the message to the designated transmission path 27 (Step S3 in FIG. 3).

When the inter-node communication means 25 receives the message, it notifies the routing means 23 of the received message. The routing means 23 determines whether the received message is a response message (step S in FIG. 3).
4) If not a response message, discard the received message (step S6 in FIG. 3). If the received message is a response message, the node status monitoring unit 22 is notified. The node state monitoring means 22 discards the received message if it is a message after a response waiting timeout. Before the response waiting time-out, the state of the node is checked by the received response message, and if there is a change in the state, the state change is notified to the NMS 10 through the NMS communication means 21 (step S5 in FIG. 3). If a response message has not been received within the response waiting time, the fact is notified to the NMS 10 (step S7 in FIG. 3).

The above operation is the operation of the master station. Next, the operation of the slave station will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Upon receiving the message from the transmission path 27 (step S11 in FIG. 4), the inter-node communication unit 25 notifies the routing unit 23 of the received message and the reception route. The routing means 23 determines whether the received message is addressed to the own station, and if the received message is addressed to the own station, performs the operation of the terminal station, and if not addressed to the own station, performs the operation of the relay station (step S12 in FIG. 4).

When the own station is the relay station, the routing means 23 operates as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, first, it is determined whether or not there is a transmission route other than the route that received the message (step S in FIG. 4).
21) If there is no other transmission route, the message is discarded (step S30 in FIG. 4). If there is another transmission route, it is determined whether the received message is a command message transmitted from the master station to the destination node or a response message transmitted from the destination node to the destination station (step in FIG. 4). S22).

Here, if it is a command message, FIG.
Destination address 102, identification number 10 of the message shown in FIG.
It is determined whether or not the same message has already been received from 4 or the like based on the contents of the message storage means 24 (step S23 in FIG. 4). If the same message has already been received, the received message is discarded (step S23). Step S31 in FIG. 4). If there is no reception record, the received message and the received route are recorded in the message storage means 24 (step S24 in FIG. 4), and the same received message is sent to all routes other than the received route (FIG. 4). (Step S25), and a message record holding timer is started (step S26 in FIG. 4).

On the other hand, if the received message is a response message, the destination address 102 and the source address 1 in FIG.
03 and the identification number 104, etc., it is determined whether or not there is a record of reception of the corresponding command message.
(Step S27 in FIG. 4), and if there is no record of receiving the command message, the received message is discarded (Step S30 in FIG. 4). If there is a record of receiving the command message, the route from which the command message was received is checked based on the record, and a response message is transmitted to the route (step S28 in FIG. 4).
In addition, the reception record in the message storage unit 24 is deleted (step S29 in FIG. 4).

Next, when the own station is the terminal station, the routing means 23 performs an operation as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, first, it is determined whether or not the same message has already been received from the identification number 104 shown in FIG. 2 based on the contents of the message storage means 24 (step S41 in FIG. 5), and the same message has already been received. In this case, the received message is discarded (step S in FIG. 5).
45).

On the other hand, if there is no reception record in the message storage means 24, the received message and the reception route are recorded in the message storage means 24 (step S42 in FIG. 5), and a message record holding timer is started (FIG. 5). Along with step S43), the received message is notified to the node status monitoring means 22. In this case, the node status monitoring means 2
2 creates a response message and requests the routing means 23 to transmit. The routing means 23 sends a response message to the route that received the command message (step S44 in FIG. 5). After that, the operation shifts to the slave operation. When the timer of the record holding of the received message times out at the relay station and the terminal station, the received record of the corresponding message is deleted (step S5 in FIG. 5).
1).

Next, the operation of the main part of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1A, the operation will be described in detail by taking, as an example, a case where the main station 1 polls the node 6.
The main station 1 assigns “1” to the message ID 101 in FIG.
), A status monitor message in which the address of the node 6 is set as the destination address 102 and the address of the master station 1 is set as the source address 103, and the status monitor message is set up with the node 6 based on the routing information (FIG. 1B). The message is transmitted to routes L2 and L3, which are communication routes. Then, a response waiting timer is started to wait for a response message.

The node 3 that has received the status monitoring message from the route L2 has a destination address not addressed to its own station.
Check whether there is a route other than the route L2. In this case, since there are routes L4, L5 and L6, it is next checked whether the received message is a command message or a response message. In this case, since it is a command message, it is checked whether the same message has already been received. If there is no reception record of the same message, the reception message and the reception route L2 are recorded, a record holding timer is started, and a copy of the reception message is transmitted to the routes L4, L5, L6.

In the node 4, the route L4 and the route L3
Will receive a message, but here L4
Explain that the message from arrived first. The node 4 performs the same routing processing as the node 3, and sends a message to the routes L3 and L7. Here the route L
When the message is received from L3, the same message has already been received from the route L4, so the message from L3 is discarded. The node 5 receives the message from the route L5, but discards the received message because it is not addressed to its own station and has no other transmission route. The master station 1 that has received the message from the route L3 discards the received message because it is not a response message.

In the destination node 6, the route L
6 and L7, the same message is received, but it is assumed that the message from route L6 is received first. The node 6 checks whether the same message has already been received since the received message is addressed to the own station. In this case, since the message has not been received yet, the received message and the receiving route L6 are recorded, the record holding timer is started, and the message ID 101 is "2" (corresponding to the symbol in FIG. 2), and the destination address 102 is the address of the main station 1. , Source address 103
Then, a status monitoring response message in which the same number as the received message is set as the address of the node 6 and the identification number 104 is created and transmitted to the route L6 which is the receiving route.

Thereafter, when a message via the node 4 is received from the route L7, the received message is discarded because there is already a record of reception of the same message. The received record is deleted after the record holding time has elapsed. The node 3 receiving the response message transmitted from the node 6 checks whether there is a record of reception of the corresponding command message based on the destination address, the transmission source address, and the identification number.
Since there is a record received from the route L2, a response message is transmitted to the route L2, and the corresponding received record is deleted. Even if no response message is returned, the received record is deleted after the record holding time has elapsed. The master station 1 receives the response message from the node 6 via the route L2. The received response message is sent to the node status monitoring means 22.
If there is a change in the state of the node 6 from the previous time,
Notify NMS10.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment has a network configuration in which a plurality of master stations are set as shown in FIG. 6A as a first point, and FIG. 6D as a second point.
Having a main station address setting means 28 as shown in FIG.
As a third point, as shown in FIG. 7, a master station address setting message (that is, a message corresponding to the code of FIG. 7 as a message ID and a response message corresponding to the code).
Is different from the first embodiment.

The master stations 1 and 5, which are the nodes 1 and 5,
When the routing information is set from the MS 10, the master station address setting means 28 sends a master station address setting message to each monitoring node according to the format shown in FIG. The master station address setting message is routed at the intermediate node and reaches the destination node, as described in the first embodiment. The node that has received the master station address setting message records the notified master station address in the master station address setting means 28, and transmits a response message to the transmission source. The master station performs a retry process on a node that cannot receive a response message in time.

On the other hand, when the slave node receives the status monitoring message, it performs routing processing only on the message in which the address that matches the previously set master station address is set, and discards messages with different master station addresses. As a result, the message does not spread outside the monitoring area of each master station. In the case of a master station address setting message, routing processing is performed for any message sent from any master station. The monitoring range of each master station can be appropriately changed, for example, when monitoring from one master station becomes impossible due to a master station failure or the like. In that case, a new master station address is set for the slave station whose monitoring master station changes.

Next, a second embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6A, node 1
And the node 5 becomes the master station. In the main station 1, the routing information shown in FIG. 6B is set, and the nodes 4, 6, and 7 are monitored. The routing information of FIG. 6C is set in the main station 5 and monitors the nodes 2 and 3. The master station 1 sets nodes 4, 6, and 7 from the master station 1 by the master station address setting means 28.
The address of the master station 1 is set.
3, the address of the main station 5 is set.

When a status monitoring message is transmitted from the main station 1 to the node 6, the message also reaches the node 3, but an address different from the set address of the main station 5 is set in the node 3. Discard this message because it is a message.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of communication routes between nodes to perform communication,
Even if a failure occurs in some of the communication routes, communication with the partner node can be performed without performing a bypass process. As a result, network monitoring can be performed without interruption. Further, even when the network configuration is changed, such as the addition of a node or the change of the line connection, there is no need to change the setting of the slave node. The reason is that the route from the master station to the destination node is not fixed, and dynamic routing is performed without setting routing information in the slave station. In addition, communication using the fastest communication route (fastest message arrival) at each time is performed between the master station and the slave stations. As a result, quick status collection can be performed without passing through a route where loads are concentrated. The reason is that the message from the master station to the slave station reaches the destination node through a plurality of routes, and the message is returned on the route that arrives at the destination node first. Furthermore, the same message is prevented from passing through the same route more than once. The return is performed by only one route. By not performing transmission to the route, traffic on the communication path can be minimized and radiation can be prevented.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the master station node is provided with means for setting the monitored node and setting the communication route information with the monitored node. Does not need to set routing information, and if there are multiple routes to reach the target node, the master station communicates with the target node even if one route is interrupted due to a failure, etc. Can be monitored. Further, even when the network configuration is changed, such as the addition of a node or the change of the line connection, the setting change of the slave node can be made unnecessary. In addition, the communication route information is set as a route that can reach each monitored node, and all reachable routes are set. Therefore, transmission to a route that clearly indicates that the target node cannot be reached is performed. This prevents unnecessary messages from being leaked. In addition, when there are a plurality of communication routes from the master node to the target node, the master node transmits a message addressed to the target node via all existing communication routes. Communication can be performed reliably. Further, when relaying a command message transmitted from the master node toward the target node to be monitored, the slave node transmits the command message to all routes other than the reception route of the command message, and transmits the command message from the target node to the master node. When relaying a response message that is sent back to the user, the command message is sent only to the route that received the corresponding command message. Therefore, the fastest (the fastest message arrival) communication route between the master station and the slave station at each time. Communication is performed, and quick status collection can be performed without passing through a route where the load is concentrated.
Also, when an identification number is assigned to a message and the same message is received twice or more in one slave node,
Since the slave node discards subsequent received messages, it is possible to prevent communication channel congestion due to an increase in message flow in the network. Also, a monitoring range is provided for each master station node, and a monitoring source master station address is set for each slave station node. When the slave node receives a message, the master station address set in the received message and its own monitoring source master station are set. The address is compared and compared, and if the addresses do not match, the corresponding message is discarded.Therefore, when multiple master stations are arranged in the network, each master station accurately determines the slave station managed by itself. Can be monitored.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a system to which a network monitoring method according to the present invention is applied (FIG. 1)
(A)), an example of routing information of the master station (FIG. 1 (b)),
FIG. 1 is a block diagram (FIG. 1C) showing the configuration of a node.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a format of a status monitoring message used in the first embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a main part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a main part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of a main part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 6 (a)), and an example of routing information of a master station (FIG. 6)
(B), (c)) and a block diagram (FIG. 6 (d)) showing the configuration of the node.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a format of a status monitoring message used in the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 to 7 nodes, 10 network monitoring devices, 21
Network monitoring device communication means, 22 node status monitoring means, 23 routing means, 24 message storage means, 25 inter-node communication means, 26 routing information storage means, 27 transmission line, 28 master station address setting means .

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A network monitoring device for monitoring a network having a plurality of nodes, wherein a master node connected to the network monitoring device collects information on a slave node connected to the network monitoring device. A network system for setting a monitoring target node and setting communication route information with the monitoring target node in the master node. Monitoring method. 2. The communication route information according to claim 1, wherein the communication route information set by the setting unit is set as a route that can reach each monitoring target node, and all reachable routes are set. Characteristic network monitoring method. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of communication routes from the master node to the destination node exist, a message addressed to the target node is transmitted to the master node via all existing communication routes. A network monitoring system comprising a transmission unit. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when relaying a command message transmitted from the master node to the target node to be monitored to the slave node, the command message is transmitted to all routes other than the reception route of the command message. And a routing means for transmitting a response message returned from the destination node to the master node only on the route from which the corresponding command message is received. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein an identification number is assigned to the message, and when one slave node receives the same message two or more times, the slave node discards subsequent received messages. Network monitoring method to use. 6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of master stations are provided in the network system, a monitoring range is provided for each master station node, and a monitoring source master station address is set for each slave station node. When a node receives a message, it compares and checks the master station address set in the received message with its own monitoring source master station address, and if both addresses match, performs routing processing for the corresponding message, and the addresses do not match In the case of (1), a network monitoring method characterized by discarding the corresponding message.