JPH11243399A - Network system with node position identifying function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load of node position management and to simplify the management by automatically managing a node position at the time of newly adding a node. SOLUTION: Nodes 7 to be connected to sub-networks 1(1A, 1B,...) are provided with an identifier storing means 15 for storing a unique identifier to identify a self node and a node position decision means 14 for transmitting the identifier to a management network with connection to one of the sub- networks 1 and also sending a response to a collating transmission when the collating transmission using the identifier is received. Here, a management network 2 is provided with a management side node position decision means 11 which successively transmits collations as against only the first sub-network to the respective sub-networks after receiving the identifier and also certifies that the sub-network to which the node is connected is the one where collating transmission is executed after receiving response as against collating transmission.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network system with a node position identification function suitable for managing the configuration of a node.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent improvement of computer and communication technologies,
Network systems are widespread everywhere.
The network system is generally used not only for LANs and WANs in laboratories and offices, but also for factory control and monitoring systems.

In particular, recently, instead of a network based on a connection between computers, which is represented by a desktop type, chips such as LON and CAN each having an arithmetic and communication function are connected to each other, and distributed between the chips. A network is being built. Such a network is suitable for control between electric systems in an automobile, interlocking control between facilities in a factory, and the like.

Further, the control of lighting equipment, hot water supply equipment, and the like in a home is suitable, for example, in a case where one home is a single sub-network and a network consisting of a set of these sub-networks is centrally managed.

[0005]

When a new node (computer, LON chip, etc.) is conventionally added to a network system, a network administrator determines in advance which subnetwork the node is to be added to. And manage it.

[0006] However, such node location management by a human system imposes a heavy load on a network administrator, and it has been conventionally required to reduce this load.

[0007] In addition, when considering a home network using LON Works or the like, it is even more important to reduce the load associated with node location management. In other words, such a network differs from a network constructed by experts for research laboratories, factories, or companies, in that the number of networks (subnets) becomes extremely large, and node additions and changes in the network become extremely frequent. Because it is expected. In addition, when handled at home, it must be easy for anyone without advanced expertise to handle.

Further, considering that the scale of various network systems will increase in the future and the frequency of addition or change of nodes will increase more and more, it will be necessary to break away from the management of node positions by human systems. is there.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. When a new node is added, the position of the node is automatically managed to reduce the load and simplify the node position management. It is an object of the present invention to provide a network system with a node position identification function that can prevent network errors and improve the reliability of network configuration management.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above problems, the invention corresponding to claim 1 has been made for a network system comprising a plurality of sub-networks and a management network connected to each of them. It is.

The node to be connected to the sub-network is provided with an identifier storing means and a node position determining means. Among them, the identifier storing means stores a unique identifier for identifying the own node, that is, a unique identifier. Is stored.

Further, the node position determining means first sends a unique identifier to the management network in connection with connection to any one of the sub-networks. When a collation transmission using a unique identifier is received, a response to the collation transmission is made.

On the other hand, the management network is provided with a management-side node position determining means, and upon receiving a unique identifier, performs collation transmission using the unique identifier to only one subnetwork with respect to each subnetwork. Sequentially.

When receiving the response to the collation transmission, the management-side node position determining means can determine that the subnetwork to which the node is connected is the subnetwork that has performed the collation transmission, and has been connected. Determine the node position.

As described above, if the position of the sub-network connected to the node can be specified, various processes such as allocating an address to the node and putting it under its own control become possible.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a new node is added, the position of the node is automatically managed to reduce and simplify the load of the node position management. Reliability can be improved.

Next, a second aspect of the present invention is the invention according to the first aspect, wherein each of the plurality of sub-networks corresponds to a physical location. Accordingly, various managements (for example, safety management of subnet connection devices) that can be realized only by specifying the physical position of the node can be realized.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. (First Embodiment of the Invention) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a network to which a network system with a node position identification function according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In this network system, a sub-network 1 (1A, 1B, 1C,...) To which nodes for controlling lighting equipment and hot water supply equipment in a home are connected is connected to a management sub-network 2 of a management company. It is. Here, each sub-network 1 is provided physically corresponding to each house (A's house, B's house, ...).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part in the network system with a node position identification function of the present embodiment. This network system includes the management sub-network 2 and each sub-network 1 as described above.

In the management sub-network 2, a management node 4 and a router 5 for each subnet are connected to a data transmission path 3. The sub-network 1 includes a router 5 for its own subnet on the data transmission path 6 and a node 7.
Is connected.

The management node 4 is configured to perform various management processes by means (not shown), and includes a management physical position determination unit 11 and a network number management unit 12. Here, when a new node 7 is connected to any of the sub-networks 1, the management physical location determination unit 11 specifies the subnet number, and uses the resulting network number as the network number management unit 12. It is to be registered. The network number registered in the network number management unit 12 is used by the management node to recognize each subnetwork 1 and nodes on the subnet.

The router 5 has a routing unit 13 for transferring data transmitted on the data transmission path 3 or 6 to a transmission path to which the data is transmitted. On the other hand, the node 7 on the subnet is constituted by a chip such as RON or CAN, for example, and includes a physical position determination unit 14 and a chip number storage unit 1.
5 and a network number setting unit 16. In FIG. 2, only one node 7 is shown on each sub-network 1, but usually, many chips 7 are connected to the transmission line 6.

The chip number storage unit 15 stores chip numbers (eg, neuron ID and manufacturing number) uniquely assigned to the node chip. This chip number is used as a unique identifier.

When the node 7 is connected to the subnet, the physical position determination unit 14 reads the chip number in the chip number storage unit 15 and sends it to the management physical position determination unit 11 of the management node 4. . Further, the network number is determined from the subnet number to which the own node belongs, which is notified from the management physical location determination unit 11, and stored in the network number setting unit 16.

The network number is composed of a subnet number and a node number. The subnet number is uniquely determined for each sub-network by the management physical position determination unit 11 of the management node 4. The node number is
It is determined uniquely (for example, serial number) for each node in each sub-network 1 and is determined by the physical location determination unit 14 in the node 7 communicating with other nodes 7 in the subnet.

The network number registered in the network number setting section 16 is used by the node 7 to recognize itself. In the case of the present embodiment, the network number indicates the physical location of the new connection node.

Next, the operation of the network system having the node position identification function according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described. In the network system shown in FIG. 2, communication is appropriately performed between the subnet and the management subnet. For example, when the node 7 on the subnet provided in the gas detector detects a gas leak in a certain house, the result is output not only in the house as an alarm from the detector but also in the management node 4 of the management company. Is also notified. In such a case, the management node 4 notifies the manager of the management company of the fact, and even if the house is out of the house, the management company and the fire department take appropriate measures.

A case where a new node 7 is connected to a subnetwork 1 having a network system functioning as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing how the physical location of the new node is automatically determined by the exchange between the management-side physical location determining unit and the physical location determining unit of the subnet node.

In this example, the sub-network 1
The following description is based on the assumption that a new node is connected to B. First, when a new node 7 is connected to the transmission line 6, the physical position determination unit 14 is activated. The physical position determination unit 14 reads the number of its own chip from the chip number storage unit 15 as a unique identifier and sends it to the management node 4 (ST11).

On the other hand, on the management node 4, the management-side physical location determination unit 11 is always operating and is waiting for reception of a network registration request (ST21). Management-side physical location determination unit 1 that has received a chip number from any of nodes 7
According to 1, the chip number collation (identifier collation) is transmitted to all sub-networks (ST22 to ST26) until a predetermined condition is satisfied (ST24). Specifically, first, a collation instruction is transmitted to the first sub-network 1A.

This identifier collation instruction is filtered by the routing unit 13 of the router 5 and transmitted only to the nodes 7 under the subnetwork 1A to which the router 5 belongs. In this case, since there is no node having the same chip number, no matching response is returned (ST2).
4, ST25).

Next, a collation instruction is transmitted from the management-side physical location determination unit 11 to the subnet network 1B. This instruction is filtered by the routing unit 13 in the same manner as described above, and is transmitted only to the nodes under the subnetwork 1B. Since there is a new node 7 connected this time in the subnetwork 1B, a collation response is returned.

That is, the processing of each node 7 on the subnet is performed as follows. First, in the node 7 connected conventionally, the physical position determination unit 14 does not stand up, so that even if the collation instruction is received by the management-side physical position determination unit 11, there is no particular correspondence to this.

On the other hand, in the newly connected node 7, the physical position determining unit 14 is operating, and after transmitting its own chip number (ST11), it is in a waiting state for comparison (ST12). Upon receiving the chip number verification instruction, the chip number is compared with the contents of the chip number storage unit 15 for verification (ST13). If the chip number is the own chip number, the management node 4 indicates that the chip number has been verified. Reply to (ST
14).

In this way, the management-side physical position determination unit 11 of the management node 4 receiving the response of the chip number collation starts the subnet number determination processing for the node 7 (ST24, ST25, ST27).

That is, the management-side physical location determining unit 11 that has received the collation response recognizes that the node 7 has been newly added to the subnetwork 1B that has transmitted the collation instruction, and determines the subnet number of the new node 7. Is the number of the destination subnetwork 1B (ST27). This makes it possible to automatically recognize which subnetwork 1 the node 7 has been added to.

The determined subnet number is registered in network number management section 4 and sent to subnetwork 1B (ST28). In the physical location determining unit 17 of the node 7 receiving the subnetwork number,
A node number determined by the relationship within the subnet is determined and registered in the network number setting unit 16 as a network number, which is a type of node address (ST1).
5). The node number may be further notified to the management-side physical location determination unit 11 and registered in the network number management unit 4.

As described above, in the network system with the node position identification function according to the embodiment of the present invention, the chip number storage unit 15 for storing a unique identifier (chip number) in the node 7 and the physical position determination unit 14 The chip number is sent to the management node 4 at the time of subnet connection, and when the identifier is checked, the identifier is checked and a response is returned. Since it has been determined that the node 7 has been newly added, when a new node is added, the node position is automatically managed to reduce and simplify the load of the node position management, and to prevent the manager from making a mistake. Thus, the reliability of network configuration management can be improved.

In other words, in the conventional node configuration management mechanism, when a node is newly added, the network administrator previously determines and manages to which subnetwork the node is to be added. However, the present invention makes it possible to automatically determine the physical location of a node, thereby improving the reliability of management in complicated configuration management tasks and simplifying the tasks. Is realized.

From the above effects, it is possible to provide a mechanism that allows a node to be freely and easily added for each site (subnetwork) from a network operated by a network administrator having specialized knowledge as in the related art.

Further, in this embodiment, since each sub-network is provided corresponding to each place (house A, house B,...), The node position of the newly connected node 7 is changed. Once determined, its physical location is determined. In this way, various managements and the like that can be performed only when the physical position of the node 7 is specified can be realized. For example, in the present embodiment, since the physical position of the node 7 connected to the gas detector is automatically determined, for example, safety management corresponding to the physical position such as detecting a gas leak in an absence message Etc. are also possible. (Second Embodiment of the Invention) In the first embodiment, the present invention has been described as an example in which the present invention is applied to a network including connections of LON chips and the like, but the present invention is not limited to such a case. .

The present invention is also applicable to a so-called stand-alone network system for connecting computers. In this case, the configuration of the network / subnetwork is the same as in the first embodiment. The difference is that each of the nodes 4 and 7 is a computer, and the unique identifier stored in the chip number storage unit 15 is not the chip number but the machine number of the computer.

Except for the above differences, the network system with a node position identification function of this embodiment has the same configuration, operation, and effects as those of the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the example described in the first embodiment, a control and monitoring system in a factory, a network (LAN, WAN) by connecting computers, and an inter-chip distributed network such as LON (for automobiles) The present invention can be applied to any network system including a set of sub-networks, such as control between electric systems and interlocking control between facilities in a factory.

Further, in the network system, by combining the node position identification function of the present invention with DHCP or the like, automatic connection of nodes to the network (Pl
ug & Play) can also be realized. (Third Embodiment of the Invention) In the first and second embodiments, the case where the position of each node is determined and then its physical position is determined has been described. However, the present invention can be applied not only to the case where the physical position of a node is determined, but also to the case where its logical position is determined.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another example of a network to which the network system with a node position identification function according to the third embodiment of the present invention is applied.
1 or 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted, and only different portions will be described here.

In the network system with the node position identification function of this embodiment, the management sub-network 2 is configured as a management mechanism, and the sub-network 1 (1X, 1Y,...) Connected to the management sub-network 2 spans a plurality of regions. It is configured as an internal company network.

Each of the sub-networks 1X, 1Y,. . In this case, when a new node is connected, the processing is performed in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments, and the subnet number is determined.

Here, company X is a company that straddles Tokyo and Osaka, and company Y is a company straddling Tokyo and Sendai. Therefore, even if the subnet is determined, the physical position of the new node 7 is not changed. It is not decided. However, if the subnetwork to which the node 7 belongs is determined, the logical position of belonging to the company X (or the company Y) is determined even if the physical position is not uniquely determined.

As described above, the network system with the node position identification function according to the embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and also makes the sub-network correspond to the logical position. Therefore, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained except for the portion corresponding to the physical position. Note that if the logical position is determined, even if the physical position is not determined, in a computer network or the like, benefits such as automatic connection of nodes to the network can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. The method described in the embodiment may be a program (software means) that can be executed by a computer (computer), for example, a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), semiconductor It can also be stored in a storage medium such as a memory or transmitted and distributed via a communication medium. The program stored on the medium side includes a setting program for causing the computer to execute software means (including not only an execution program but also a table and a data structure) to be executed in the computer. A computer that realizes the present apparatus reads a program recorded in a storage medium, and in some cases, constructs software means by using a setting program, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation of the software means.

[0053]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when a new node is added, the position of the node is automatically managed to reduce and simplify the load of the node position management and to reduce the mistake of the administrator. It is possible to provide a network system with a node position identification function, which can prevent such a situation and enhance the reliability of network configuration management.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a network to which a network system with a node position identification function according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part in the network system with a node position identification function according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing how a physical position of a new node is automatically determined by an exchange between a physical position determining unit on the management side and a physical position determining unit of a subnet node;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another example of a network to which a network system with a node position identification function according to a third embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Subnetwork 2 ... Management subnetwork 3 ... Data transmission path 4 ... Management node 5 ... Router 6 ... Data transmission path 7 ... Node 11 ... Management physical position determination part 12 ... Network number management part 13 ... Routing part 14 ... Physical position determination unit 15: Chip number storage unit 16: Network number setting unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A network system comprising a plurality of sub-networks and a management network connected to each of the sub-networks, wherein a node to be connected to the sub-network is a unique identifier for identifying its own node. An identifier storage means for storing the unique identifier to the management network in connection with connection to any of the sub-networks, and, when receiving the collation transmission using the unique identifier, And a node position determining means for making a response. The management network, upon receiving the unique identifier, sequentially performs the collation transmission for only one subnetwork to each subnetwork, and responds to the collation transmission. Received, the subnet to which the node was connected Over click is the verification sends the node position identification function network system is characterized in that a management node position determining means to certify that the subnetworks performed. 2. The network system with a node position identification function according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of sub-networks corresponds to a physical position.