KR100471497B1 - Upgrade method of image file in network system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for upgrading an image file in a network system including a secondary controller having an operating system independent of the primary controller managing the entire system. The present invention relates to a method of upgrading an image file for driving each of the secondary controllers in a network system including a primary controller and a plurality of secondary controllers, wherein the primary controller is configured to append a version of a new image file received from an operator terminal. A first step of downloading the new image file to the secondary controller if the new image file has a higher version than the existing image file compared to a version of the existing image file stored in the flash memory of the controller; A second step of the sub-controller copying the new image file downloaded from the master controller to a specific area of the flash memory (an area distinct from an area in which the existing image file is stored); A third step of the primary controller initializing the secondary controller so that the secondary controller performs an initialization process; A fourth step of the initialized sub-controller copying a new image file stored in a specific area of the flash memory into a RAM, removing the new image file stored in the flash memory, and performing a new image file of the RAM; The third step of updating the existing image file stored in the flash memory with the new image file of the RAM when the new image file operates normally, and initializing the secondary controller if the new image file does not operate normally. A fifth step of performing thereafter; And a sixth step of checking whether a new image file exists in a specific region of the flash memory and copying the existing image file stored in the flash memory to the RAM if it does not exist.

Description

Upgrade method of image file in network system

The present invention relates to a method for upgrading an image file required for the operation of a network system, and more particularly, to a method for upgrading an image file in a network system including a plurality of secondary controllers having an operating system independent of the primary controller for managing the entire system. .

1 shows an example of a configuration of a network system composed of a primary controller and a secondary controller to which the present invention is applied.

In the drawings, reference numerals 101 and 102 are main controllers and are configured in a redundant form to prevent a malfunction of the system due to a malfunction of the main controllers 101 and 102. Reference numerals 103 to 106 denote secondary controllers, which operate with independent operating systems with image files different from the primary controllers 101 and 102. Use line 107 or 108 to upgrade the image file of the secondary controller. After upgrading the image file, the primary controllers 101 and 102 initialize the secondary controllers to load new image files.

2 is a block diagram of a general secondary controller having an independent operating system. Conventionally, when upgrading the image file of the secondary controller of FIG. 2, after replacing the secondary controller in the network system, the socket-shaped boot ROM 201 is replaced, or the operator inputs / outputs from an external terminal device. The image file was directly downloaded to the flash memory via 202.

When upgrading the image file of each sub-controller by the conventional method as described above in the system, it causes trouble for the operator, and the system is inoperable after re-operation of the system due to hardware problems such as the operator's mistake or socket breakage. You may also fall into the state of. In addition, there was a drawback in that the system was long stopped due to the long upgrade time.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, an object of the present invention is to specify a new image file downloaded from the primary controller by the secondary controller in the network system including the primary controller and a plurality of secondary controllers After downloading to the RAM and copying it to RAM and executing the new image file normally, the existing image file is updated with the new image file of RAM, thereby replacing the upgrade agent with the main controller that understands the status of the sub controller instead of the operator. Therefore, it is possible to select an upgrade method suitable for each network system characteristic, and to provide an image file upgrade method in a network system that can eliminate annoying operators and mistakes.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for upgrading an image file for driving each of the secondary controllers in a network system including a primary controller and a plurality of secondary controllers.

If the new image file has a higher version than the existing image file by comparing the version of the new image file received from the operator terminal with the version of the existing image file stored in the flash memory of the secondary controller, the new image is transferred to the secondary controller. A first step of downloading a file;

A second step of the sub-controller copying the new image file downloaded from the master controller to a specific area of the flash memory (an area distinct from an area in which the existing image file is stored);

A third step of the primary controller initializing the secondary controller so that the secondary controller performs an initialization process;

A fourth step of the initialized sub-controller copying a new image file stored in a specific area of the flash memory into a RAM, removing the new image file stored in the flash memory, and performing a new image file of the RAM;

The third step of updating the existing image file stored in the flash memory with the new image file of the RAM when the new image file operates normally, and initializing the secondary controller if the new image file does not operate normally. A fifth step of performing thereafter; And

delete

Checking whether a new image file exists in a specific region of the flash memory and if not, copying an existing image file stored in the flash memory to the RAM; Characterized in that it comprises a.

In addition, the present invention, in a computer comprising a primary controller and a plurality of secondary controllers,

If the new image file has a higher version than the existing image file by comparing the version of the new image file received from the operator terminal with the version of the existing image file stored in the flash memory of the secondary controller, the new image is transferred to the secondary controller. A first function of downloading a file;

A second function of the sub-controller copying a new image file downloaded from the master controller to a specific area of the flash memory (an area distinct from an area in which the existing image file is stored);

A third function in which the primary controller initializes the secondary controller so that the secondary controller performs an initialization process;

A fourth function of the initialized sub-controller copying a new image file stored in a specific area of the flash memory to a RAM, removing the new image file stored in the flash memory, and performing a new image file of the RAM;

The third step of updating the existing image file stored in the flash memory with the new image file of the RAM when the new image file operates normally, and initializing the secondary controller if the new image file does not operate normally. A fifth function of performing later; And

delete

A sixth function of checking whether a new image file exists in a specific region of the flash memory and copying an existing image file stored in the flash memory to the RAM if not present; A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the program is provided.

In the present invention, after the main controller completes the image file download to a specific area (temporary area) of the flash memory of the entire sub-controller according to the priority of the sub-controller, and then initializes all the sub-controllers at the same time, the normal operation state of each sub-controller In case of normal operation, it upgrades the image file in the temporary area to the boot area and restarts the existing image file if it malfunctions.

In addition, in a network system in which a bypass path is provided, for example, a router system, after the primary controller completes downloading the image file to the temporary area of the flash memory of the kth secondary controller having the highest priority, the primary controller may advance the kth secondary controller. After notifying communication interruption to other router system or other sub-controller through routing information to secure the bypass path, initialize the k-th sub-controller, and then repeat the above download and initialization operations to other sub-controllers sequentially. Operation of the system can be guaranteed.

On the other hand, the present invention by dividing the storage space of the image file of the flash memory by double, avoiding the deadlock state (continuous boot state of the wrong image file) of the system due to booting the wrong image file, the previous image By booting from the file, the fact is reported to the primary controller so that you can avoid continuing to upgrade the wrong image file to another secondary controller.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a view for explaining the latest image file download process from the primary controller to the secondary controller according to the present invention.

If there is a need to upgrade the latest image file, first, a new image file is downloaded to the RAM area of the main controller through the operator terminal (301). If there is no error in the image file downloaded to the RAM of the primary controller, and the new image file downloaded is more recent than the version of the existing image file in the image area of the flash memory of the secondary controller, the primary controller will download the image file to the secondary controller. Download (302). If the download to the secondary controller completes without error, the secondary controller reports to the primary controller (303).

4 illustrates a process of downloading an image file from a primary controller to a secondary controller according to the present invention.

When a new image file is downloaded from the operator terminal to the RAM of the main controller, if there is an error of the image file, and if there is an error, it is requested to retransmit and when the download is completed (401, 402), the existing image file version of the secondary controller Check (403). If the newly downloaded new image file has a higher version than the existing image file (404), the new image file is downloaded to the secondary controller (405).

5 is a view for explaining an upgrade procedure in the secondary controller according to the present invention.

In the drawing, 501 is a processor (CPU), 502 is a RAM, 503 is a boot flash memory, and 504 is a flash memory.

The latest image file downloaded from the main controller through the router is stored in the area 'A', which is a certain area of the RAM 502 (505), and the processor 501 reports (506) whether the download is abnormal. If the image file in the RAM 502 area 'A zone' is intact, the processor 501 copies the image file to the 'C zone' which is a temporary area of the flash memory 504 (507). Request retransmission to the controller (506). If the latest image file is normally copied to the flash memory 504, the primary controller 501 initializes the secondary controller (508). At this time, the initialization method is selected according to the characteristics of the network system. If the nature of the network system requires the simultaneous image file upgrade of all secondary controllers (this is the case without a bypass path), the primary controller downloads new image files to the secondary controllers in turn, and then initializes all secondary controllers simultaneously. Upgrade the image file of the controller. After initializing the entire sub-controller as described above, if a sub-controller with abnormal operation occurs, only the sub-controller performing abnormal operation is upgraded again.

On the other hand, in a system for which continuous operation of the network system is intended (in the case of a system having a bypass path), the secondary controllers are upgraded one by one in order of priority, and the operation of the other secondary controllers is maintained while initializing. As described above, in the system having the bypass path, the primary controller informs other secondary controllers and neighboring router systems of the secondary controller to initialize the secondary controller before the secondary controller initializes the secondary controller to secure the bypass path.

On the other hand, the initialized sub-controller copies the contents of the boot flash 503 to RAM, and then performs a 'boot area check and copy module' of the region 509 indicated by the last code of the boot flash 503. The module first checks the start address of the 'zone C', and if there is data as shown in FIG. 6, copies the data of the 'zone C' to the RAM 502 and deletes the data of the 'zone C'. Perform an image file of RAM 502. If there is no data, the previous image file existing in the 'B area' is copied to the RAM 502 and executed. If the latest image file copied to RAM operates normally, the version of the image file of RAM and the version of the 'B Zone' image file of flash memory 504 are checked. If the image file version of RAM is high, the image file of RAM is' Section B. ' If abnormal operation of the latest image file occurs, the secondary controller reports the abnormal operation to the primary controller as an interrupt, and the primary controller initializes the secondary controller. The secondary controller reinitialized due to abnormal operation erases the image file of RAM due to the initialization and there is no data in 'C zone'. Therefore, the secondary controller boots with the previous image file of 'B zone'. Stop and notify the operator of the error in the image file.

6 shows an image file and a header file structure, 601 to 603 are headers, 601 is a version of an image file (VER), 602 is a start address (ST ADDR) of an image file, and 603 is an image file. 604 is the actual image file portion.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an upgrade process in a secondary controller according to the present invention.

When the image file is downloaded to the RAM of the secondary controller, the processor of the secondary controller stores the image file in a specific area of the secondary controller RAM, and reports the abnormality of the downloaded image file to the primary controller. Here, if there is an error in the downloaded image file, retransmission is requested (701, 702). When the download of the image file is completed, the processor of the sub-controller copies the new image file stored in the RAM to 'zone C', which is a specific region of the flash memory (a region distinct from the region where the previous image file is stored). If the new image file is normally copied to the 'C zone' of the flash memory, the primary controller initializes the secondary controller (704). At this time, the entire sub-controller may be initialized according to the characteristics of the network system or the sub-controllers may be initialized one by one for each priority.

After the secondary controller is initialized (705), the processor of the secondary controller checks whether the latest image file exists in the 'region C' of a specific area of the flash memory (706), and if the latest image file does not exist, booting of the flash memory The existing image file stored in the area 'region B' is copied to the RAM and executed (707). If the latest image file exists in the 'region C' of the flash memory, the latest image file stored in the flash memory is copied to the RAM (708), and the latest image file of the 'region C' is deleted (709). Perform file (710).

If the latest image file copied to RAM operates normally (711), the version of RAM image file and the version of the existing image file in 'B' of flash memory are checked, so the image file version of RAM is the version of the existing image file. If higher, the image file of RAM is overwritten with 'B zone' (712). On the other hand, when abnormal operation of the latest image file occurs (711), the secondary controller reports the abnormal operation to the primary controller as an interrupt, and the primary controller initializes the secondary controller. The secondary controller reinitialized due to abnormal operation erases the image file of RAM due to the initialization and there is no data in 'C zone'. Therefore, the secondary controller boots with the previous image file of 'B zone'. Stop and notify the operator of the error in the image file.

8 shows an example of a router system to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 8, the main controller 801 provides routing protocol processing, routing table creation and management, network management, and system operation management, and is configured in a redundant form. The secondary controller 802 is composed of a gigabit Ethernet line card (1Gbps) and a POS connection line card (OC-48) as a line connection card, and performs an input / output function of a system and is connected to an external network or an internal network. The switch unit 803 plays a role of exchanging packets of each sub controller, and is configured in a redundant form, and the Inter Processor Communication (IPC) board 804 exchanges control messages and routing information of boards in the system, It serves as a gateway for image file upgrades.

If the primary controller of the router system provides a bypass path to the other secondary controller and other neighboring routers in the routing table before initializing the kth secondary controller, the continuous operation of packet exchange of the router system can be guaranteed.

In the present invention as described above, the main controller, which grasps the state of each sub-controller when upgrading the image file, can determine the downloading of the new image file and set the bypass path. You can upgrade. In addition, the upgrade process made by the management of the main controller has the advantage of blocking the error of the operator in advance, and avoiding repeating the upgrade process of the wrong image file.

1 is a configuration diagram of a network system including a primary controller and a secondary controller to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a configuration diagram of a secondary controller having an independent operating system.

3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining an image file download process from a primary controller to a secondary controller in a network system according to the present invention.

5 is a view for explaining an image file upgrade procedure in a secondary controller according to the present invention;

6 is a header structure diagram of an image file.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an image file upgrade procedure in a secondary controller according to the present invention.

8 is a view for explaining an example in which the present invention is applied to a router system.

 Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

101,102: primary controller 103 ~ 106: secondary controller

201: boot ROM 501: CPU

503: boot flash

Claims (7)

A method of upgrading an image file for driving each of the secondary controllers in a network system including a primary controller and a plurality of secondary controllers, the method comprising: If the new image file has a higher version than the existing image file by comparing the version of the new image file received from the operator terminal with the version of the existing image file stored in the flash memory of the secondary controller, the new image is transferred to the secondary controller. A first step of downloading a file; A second step of the sub-controller copying the new image file downloaded from the master controller to a specific area of the flash memory (an area distinct from an area in which the existing image file is stored); A third step of the primary controller initializing the secondary controller so that the secondary controller performs an initialization process; A fourth step of the initialized sub-controller copying a new image file stored in a specific area of the flash memory into a RAM, removing the new image file stored in the flash memory, and performing a new image file of the RAM; The third step of updating the existing image file stored in the flash memory with the new image file of the RAM when the new image file operates normally, and initializing the secondary controller if the new image file does not operate normally. A fifth step of performing thereafter; And Checking whether a new image file exists in a specific region of the flash memory and if not, copying an existing image file stored in the flash memory to the RAM; Image file upgrade method in a network system comprising a. The method of claim 1, The first step, When the primary controller normally downloads a new image file from an operator terminal or a remote site, selecting one of the plurality of secondary controllers to check a version of the new image file and a version of an existing image file of the selected secondary controller; ; Downloading a new image file to the selected sub-controller if the version of the new image file is higher than the version of the existing image file; And And after the downloading of the image file to one sub-controller is completed, sequentially downloading the image file to the remaining sub-controllers. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And in the third step, before the primary controller initializes the secondary controller, informs the other secondary controller and other neighboring systems of information of the secondary controller to initialize. The method of claim 1, In the fifth step, in the network system, the existing image file stored in the flash memory is updated with the new image file of the RAM only when the normally operated new image file has a higher version than the existing image file. How to upgrade an image file. The method of claim 1, And in the third step, the primary controller initializes all of the secondary controllers at the same time. The method of claim 5, wherein In the third step, after the main controller initializes all of the sub-controllers at the same time, upgrading only the sub-controllers which perform abnormal operations among the sub-controllers which have simultaneously performed the fourth to seventh steps. The image file upgrade method in the network system, characterized in that it further comprises. In a computer that includes a primary controller and a plurality of secondary controllers, If the new image file has a higher version than the existing image file by comparing the version of the new image file received from the operator terminal with the version of the existing image file stored in the flash memory of the secondary controller, the new image is transferred to the secondary controller. A first function of downloading a file; A second function of the sub-controller copying a new image file downloaded from the master controller to a specific area of the flash memory (an area distinct from an area in which the existing image file is stored); A third function in which the primary controller initializes the secondary controller so that the secondary controller performs an initialization process; A fourth function of the initialized sub-controller copying a new image file stored in a specific area of the flash memory to a RAM, removing the new image file stored in the flash memory, and performing a new image file of the RAM; The third step of updating the existing image file stored in the flash memory with the new image file of the RAM when the new image file operates normally, and initializing the secondary controller if the new image file does not operate normally. A fifth function of performing later; And A sixth function of checking whether a new image file exists in a specific region of the flash memory and copying an existing image file stored in the flash memory to the RAM if not present; A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the program.