JPH0421147A - Network control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the redundancy of information to be exchanged by allocating different identifies (IDs) to the same object to be controlled and storing an ID string to be abbreviated in a memory to form network control information. CONSTITUTION:A control agent for transmitting control information is found out at first, and then plural objects to be controlled are constituted as hierarchical tree structure based upon prescribed master-slave relation. Respectively different IDs are allocated to respective controlled objects, an abbreviated object corresponding to the control agent is specified and stored in an internal memory. Then, network control information is formed by using the abbreviated IDs to which abbreviated IDs are added. The control information can be specified as a control object instance by using the ID included in the control information and the ID stored in the memory and transmitted to the control agent. Since the expression of the ID is shortened, the quantity of transferred information between a control manager and the control agent can be reduced and the performance of control operation transmitting processing and analytical processing for reception can be improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a network management system that centrally manages a network consisting of a plurality of devices, especially a network
- Management information that a work management system should have, a method for defining such management information, and a network management system that efficiently manages management information when executing management functions.

[Conventional technology]

The conventional network management system is INIsO/IEC 7498-4 (ISO/IEC
7498-4), and I.N.O./I.C.J.C./Nis.C.21 I.C.
Varnish O/DP 10040 (ISO/IEC
As shown in JTC/5C21ISO/DPI○040), it is modeled by a manager role, an agent role, and a managed object. In general, the manager role and the agent role are information processing processes that exist in different open systems, and the agent role process is a process that performs direct management functions for managed objects within the own system, while the manager role A process serving as a role is a process that requires a management function for the agent. Hereinafter, the information processing process that implements the functions of the manager role will be referred to as the management manager (or simply manager, or network management system), and the information processing process that performs the functions of the agent role will be referred to as the management agent (or simply agent). .

A managed object is an abstract representation of various network resources that are actually managed, and when viewed from the viewpoint of the difference in management information, various classes of managed objects are called managed object classes, depending on the content of the information to be managed. Actual management is achieved by mutually exchanging management information corresponding to the managed object class of each managed object (this is called a managed object instance) between the manager and the agent, but the contents of this exchange are can be broadly divided into two. That is, there are management operation requests sent from the manager to the agent for each managed object instance, and event reports (notifications) sent from the agent to the manager to report events that occur in each managed object instance. cation). The specific contents of these management operation requests and event reports are defined in detail as attributes corresponding to the class of each management object.

In O8I, these management operations and event report formats, the types and values of management information set therein, and a definition method using templates as a definition method for these management information are being considered.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above conventional technology, the type, content, and definition method of management information of managed objects that make up a network are discussed, but how do managers and agents actually define and operate this management information? Identifiers and identifiers for recognizing this management information between managers and agents.

There are problems such as extremely redundant name structure, and when starting management, it is necessary to match the management status of the managed object instance between the manager and the agent, so no consideration has been given to the method etc. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of agents that manage a network composed of a plurality of communication devices.

The network management system consists of a manager connected to each agent, and the manager and agent mutually exchange network management information including at least arbitrary managed targets and the types of processing to be performed on the managed targets. , the aim is to reduce the redundancy of network management information exchanged between managers and agents.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, in the network management system of the present invention, a plurality of management targets managed by the agent are stored in the internal memories of the manager and the agent in a predetermined master-slave relationship (for example, as described later in FIG. 4). sub·
It is configured in a one-layer tree structure based on the physical affiliation relationships such as the order of network, switch, and boat. , the containing tree information created by assigning different identifiers to each one is memorized, and the manager selects the association setting with the agent from among the identifier strings for specifying arbitrary management targets to be included in the network management information. The first identifier sequence to be omitted later (for example, 1so(1)+member in FIG. 3, which will be described later)
r-body (2) 10 Japan (392) + company (90) +
Company A (100000) + network management (00),
and the agent stores the first identifier in its internal memory in response to instructions from the manager.

Meanwhile, the manager stores the first identifier string in the internal memory of the manager in response to the confirmation response from the agent. Thereafter, when mutually exchanging network management information, the manager and agent include the first identifier in the network management information, and a second identifier string (for example, When requesting to display the status of boat P1 in FIG. 4, object class = (0, 2),
Object instance = (1, 1, 2, 1) and the above first identifier string stored in each internal memory (for example,
1, 2, 392, 90, 100,000°00) to specify the specified management target.

Further, each agent stores a managed object representing itself as a root object of the containing tree information with the same root identifier (for example, 1) assigned thereto,
The manager stores managed objects representing each agent with different identifiers (for example, 1, 2, 3, etc.), and receives arbitrary information from processing means (other managers) connected to the manager. When communicating with a specified agent in response to a predetermined processing request that includes an identifier string specifying an agent, an identifier string in which the identifier specifying the agent in the above identifier string is replaced with the root identifier is used. do.

Furthermore, in the network management system described above, each agent organizes the multiple management targets managed by the agent into a hierarchical tree structure based on a predetermined master-slave relationship, stores the containing tree information created by assigning different identifiers to each one, and stores the containing tree information created by assigning different identifiers to the manager and The manager is notified of the identifier string to be omitted after the association is set, and this identifier is stored in the internal memory, and the manager stores the identifier string in response to the notification.

Thereafter, when exchanging network management information, the manager and agent omit the stored identifier string and include it in the network management information, and store the identifier string included therein in each internal memory. The specified management target may be specified by using the specified identifier string.

In other words, the features of the present invention include actions for managed objects, template information for defining events that occur in managed objects, class information, attribute information, and action information for managed objects to be managed. , managed object class information that defines notification information, and managed object instance information corresponding to the actual managed object in the management manager and management agent, and when specifying these management information, the object An identifier system and a function that can start from any position in the containment tree of managed object instances are provided, and means are provided for using these functions to execute various management functions.

[Effect]

The network management system according to the present invention can appropriately shorten each representation of an identifier of management information and a management object instance by providing means for starting from a position in the middle of each mechanism increase. Therefore, the amount of management information for the management manager and the management agent can be reduced, and the processing capacity can be improved.

Furthermore, when defining a new managed object class as management information, a managed object definition template is used to reduce the occurrence of errors in operations that display information on operations for definition.

Furthermore, when performing some operation on a managed object instance, the managed object class information is used to determine whether the operation is appropriate. By using management information in this way, it becomes possible to process various management operations.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the above management concept. FIG. 1 shows an example of the basic configuration of a network management system that implements the present invention. Here, 1 is a system that realizes the present invention, 11 is a display, 12 is a keyboard, and 13 is a mouse, which are devices that realize a man-machine interface. Additionally, this system uses managed object instance information 300, managed object class information 200, and managed object template information 100 for defining managed object class information as basic information for realizing management.
It has As shown in FIG. 2, this management system 1 summarizes some of the component devices in an information communication network 1000 that is configured by interconnecting a plurality of transmission devices, switching devices, or information processing devices. A management system 800 (manages Nl-N3) and a subnetwork management system 900 (manages Jl.

This is a system that manages the entire information communication network 1000 by exchanging management information regarding individual managed objects (managed object instances) managed by these subnetwork management systems with the subnetwork management systems (Managing J2). This management function is realized by a man-machine interface control section 10, a management function execution control 30, and a management information control 20. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below using each of these functions, but before that, the concept of network management based on object orientation will be briefly explained to help understand the terminology used in this embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a model of the concept of network management based on object orientation.

Here, the relationship between two systems, a management system and a managed system, is shown. Various resources to be managed are abstracted and handled as managed objects. There are various types of resources to be managed, and the management content (i.e. management information) depends on these types.
Since they are different, the difference is defined as a managed object class.

In order to realize the management of the managed object, the manager and the agent exchange management operation requests and event reports in the direction shown in FIG. 8. Management operations here include creation of managed objects,
These are various operations such as deletion, reading and setting of various attribute values of a managed object, or requesting some kind of action to the managed object itself. Also.

An event report is a notification of an event such as the creation or disappearance of a managed object managed by an agent, or a change in the value of an attribute of a managed object.

The managed object class represents the type of managed object as described above, and each managed object that exists as an entity is called a managed object instance.

Managed object classes are distinguished from each other based on the difference in management information, and as a relationship between sets of management information, for example, management information of managed object class B is different from management information of managed object class A.
class B is said to inherit the management information of class A. A relationship called inheritance exists among managed object classes. On the other hand, in managed object instances, they are related by an inclusion relationship, which is one of the relationships between actual managed resources.

The manager manages these managed object class instances based on the information of the corresponding managed object class.

The network management system in this embodiment is the management manager described in the prior art section, and the subnetwork management systems 800 and 900 correspond to management agents. As already explained, network management is achieved by mutually recognizing the containment tree of managed objects and instances to be managed between the management manager and the management agent, and exchanging management information regarding individual managed object instances. However, it is necessary to mutually understand this management information. The information necessary for mutual understanding is the configuration of the managed object instances managed by each management agent, especially the inclusion relationship and the type of each managed object instance, that is, managed object instance information.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of an object identifier for identifying managed object class information.

The structure of this object identifier is specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Standardization and registration methods are currently being considered. In ISO, object identifiers below member-dody are only determined up to Japan (392), and the object identifiers below Japan in the example in Figure 3 (each of these object identifiers is also called a component) This is shown as an example.

In order to realize network management, various types of information such as managed object class information, attribute information, and notification information are required between a management manager and a management agent, and mutual recognition of this management information is required. Here, as an example, an object identifier called network management is provided under company A, and identifiers for the various types of management information are set below that. The management information is mutually recognized between the management manager and the management agent by using these object identifiers.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining an example of a transmission frame exchanged between a management manager and a management agent.

The transmission frame 50 is composed of at least an object field 52 for writing object information and an attribute field 56 for writing attribute information.

In the object field 52, an object class 53 and an object instance 54 are entered.

For example, the exchange at company A is 1so (1).

n+emberbody (2), Japan (392),
Companies (90).

Company A (100000), network management (00).

These object identifiers, represented by the managed object class (O) and the exchange (1), allow them to recognize each other for the first time.

When specifying the status of the boat 1 of the exchange 1 shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG.
An object identifier such as (A) is entered for the object instance 54, (B) is entered for the object instance 54, and (C) is entered for the attribute 55.

The object identifier coding method is IS
Standardized by O.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the managed object instances described above, that is, management information indicating the inclusion relationship of the managed object instances for a subnetwork managed by the management agent 800 shown in FIG. 2.

The management agent 800 in FIG. 2 manages the entire subnetwork, the exchanges N1 to N3, and the connection ports P1 to P8 for the lines between these exchanges, and as a result, the management agent 800 shown in FIG. This is a containment relationship for object instances. When exchanging information regarding a certain managed object instance between the management agent 800 and the management manager 1, for example, the managed object class of the managed object instance must be expressed using an object identifier. As mentioned above, we must start with the highest level object identifier component, ie, U5o(1). However, for example, if both the management manager and the management agent are within company A, and all management information is under company A's network management (0), then ISO (1) memberbody (2) Japanese (392) company (90) Company A (100000) Although the object identifier up to network management (OO) is obvious, since this object identifier is always added, the amount of information to be transferred is large and there are problems in terms of processing performance.

This problem becomes more serious as the hierarchy of object identifiers becomes deeper. The present invention solves the above problems.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a management manager for realizing the present invention. As can be seen from this figure, the management manager 1 has an identifier management function 21. Note that the management agent 800 also has a substantially similar identifier management function 21.
0, and the function 210 is managed as one of the managed object instances in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. The present invention is a system in which the management manager and the management agent mutually recognize omitted object identifiers using these identifier management functions, thereby omitting redundant object identifiers.

A method for omitting redundant object identifiers is explained in more detail with the help of diagrams. FIG. This is what is shown.

The management manager 1 issues an association setting request 810 for management to the management agent 800, and the management agent 800 returns an association establishment reception response 811, whereby management information is exchanged between the management manager and the management agent. can be exchanged. In this state, the object identifier of the management information is expressed using all the components as described above. In the present invention, for example, the management manager 1 stores the management information of the management agent 800 as the network management (0) of company A.
0) If you want to identify the object identifier of management information in a format that omits the following components because only the following components are not used, send an identifier setting request 812 to the management agent 800 (the content is
o(1) memberbody (2) Japan (392)
Company (90) Company A (10ooo) Network management (
00)). In this case, the target managed object instance is the identifier management function 210.

The management agent 800 performs the configuration requested! g identifier 820 to the identifier management function (813), and returns an identifier setting request reception response 814 to the management manager 1. The management manager 1 also sets the requested abbreviated identifier 820 in the self-identifier management function 21 (815). Hereinafter, the object identifier of the management information is i B o (1) me
lIIbeubody (2) Japan (392) Companies (9
0) Company A (100000) Network management (00) is omitted, and the following components are used only.

When specifying the state of port 1 of exchange 1 shown in FIG. 4, object class 60 (
24), the object instance 61 shown in FIG. 25(B) (corresponding to FIG. 24 54)
, becomes an abbreviated identifier such as the attribute 64 (corresponding to FIG. 24 55) shown in FIG. 25(E).

In addition, Fig. 25 (C) shows the name of a set of network + exchange + boat (for example, attribute (5)).
).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a bit image when object instances are further omitted. In addition, Fig. 25 (D) shows “2
/Network...'' in the attribute (
5) is a diagram showing a bit image of an object instance when omitted by using 5).

Note that when using the object identifier from 1so(1), the conventional coding method uses a calculation result using the first and second components of the object identifier.

According to the present invention, when the object identifier is omitted, the first component and the second component of the component portion to be coded are identified without performing any calculations. These identifications are
This may be implemented using a protocol or by setting an abbreviated identifier in an identifier string on a transmission frame.

FIG. 6 shows the management function execution control 30 and management information control 20 in FIG. 1 when the management manager 1 sends management information after setting the abbreviated identifier to the management agent (corresponding to 816 in FIG. 5). This shows an outline of the process. First, a management agent that manages a managed object instance to which management information is to be sent is sought (840). Next, the identifier management function requests the optional object identifier of the management agent (8
41) An object identifier to be sent to the managed object instance is created using components other than the optional object identifier (842). At this time,
In coding, no calculations are performed on the first and second components as described above.

After that, the management information is sent to the management agent (84
3).

FIG. 7 shows an outline of processing when the management agent receives management information from the management manager. When the management agent receives the management information from the management manager (860), the management agent uses the identifier management function to obtain the omitted object identifier (861). Next, the corresponding managed object identifier is determined from the requested abbreviated identifier and the object identifier of the received management information (862).
.

Performs processing corresponding to the corresponding object identifier for the specified managed object instance (863)
). The method for omitting identifiers for each management agent has been described above, but object identifiers can be abbreviated more precisely by setting an abbreviated identifier for each managed object instance. In this case, an abbreviated identifier may be set for each managed object instance information of the managed object instance information 300.

Next, a configuration example of a managed object instance according to the present invention and its representation method will be explained.

As already explained, the inclusive tree of the subnetwork 1001 managed by the management agent 800 in FIG. 2 has the configuration shown in FIG. 4. By mutually recognizing each containment tree between the management manager and the management agent, management operations for corresponding managed object instances are realized. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, for the managed object instance managed by the management agent 800, ()
Number them as shown in . Here, the numbering refers to the managed object instances that are directly contained in a given managed object instance (for example,
1 contained in the boat IP1.1. (Boat 2P2, Port 3P3), these assigned numbers are set to be different from each other. It is desirable that these numbers be assigned consecutively in ascending order, but they do not necessarily have to be consecutive.

In the present invention, a managed object instance is expressed by sequentially concatenating these assigned numbers according to the structure of the containment tree. For example, the exchange INI in FIG.
The surface as a managed object instance in the present invention is 1.1, and baud)-2 (P7) is 1.1.
It becomes 4.2. The representations of these managed object instances are logical, and when they are actually transferred between a management manager and a management agent, the coding method used is a character representation, which also follows the coding rules for object identifiers. It may be.

The representation method of managed object instance is o
The management methods being considered in sr include a method that uses identifiers in a directory system, etc., a method that assigns serial numbers to all managed object instances, and a method that connects relative distinguished names from a certain managed object instance according to a containing tree. etc.

The method of the present invention does not use a name attribute identifier, so the amount of information to be transferred is smaller than the method using these identifiers and the method that connects relative identifiers. Also, compared to the method using serial numbers, the representation of a managed object instance itself does not correspond to the containing tree, but in the method of the present invention, since the representation itself of the managed object instance corresponds to the containing tree, High-speed processing is possible using representations.

Note that the management object instance number may be assigned to each management agent, and in this case, the number of the highest managed object instance for each management agent may be the same. In this case, the management manager assigns numbers according to the containing tree of all managed object instances, but the management information control function 20, for example, has a correspondence table between the numbers assigned by the management manager and the numbers assigned by each management agent. , this correspondence table is used to perform the conversion when executing a management operation on the managed object instance of each management agent. Furthermore, when a managed object instance is expressed using a relative identifier instead of a numerical value, the relative identifier of the highest managed object instance for each management agent may be the same. In this case as well, in the same way as in the above case, by providing a correspondence table between the relative distinguished name given by the management manager and the relative distinguished name given by each management agent, management of the managed object instance managed by each management agent is performed. Operations can be executed.

Next, the functions of the present invention for setting, checking, etc. configuration information of managed object instances will be explained.

As already shown in FIG. 1, the basic configuration of the network management system according to the present invention includes a management information definition template information file 100, a managed object class information file 200, and a managed object instance information file 300 as management information. . Management information definition template information is template information that is the basis for defining the above management object class.

Managed object class information is the management information held by various managed object classes to be managed, and managed object instance information is the configuration of individual managed object instances of the actual managed network and the management information of these managed object instances. This is information consisting of specific values.

FIG. 9 shows a detailed configuration of the management information change control 28 shown in FIG. 1. As is clear from FIG. 9, management information change control 28
This includes a man-machine interface request processing 26 that performs interface processing when an administrator adds and updates configuration information using a man-machine interface, a management function execution control interface 25 that performs processing during actual management operations, and these image processing units. It is composed of a management information definition template file control 22, a managed object class information file control 23, and a managed object instance information file control 24, which execute access control of each file information in response to a request. First, an overview of each of these management information files in the present invention will be described below.

Examples of managed object definition template information are shown in FIGS. 10 to 13. In this example, templates include a managed object class definition template, a managed attribute definition template, an action definition template, and a notification. The managed object class template is as shown in Figure 10.
It consists of the following items.

- DERIVED FROM: Indicates that an object class above the corresponding object class in the inheritance relationship is defined.

- CI (ARACTERIZED BY: Indicates that the managed object class is characterized by the following items.

- ATTRIBUTES: Defines the attributes that the managed object class has. It is possible to define multiple attributes.

-0PERETION: Indicates that the following operations exist for the class of the managed object.

- CREATE: Indicates that the managed object class can be created by the agent in response to a creation instruction from the management manager.

- DELEATE: Indicates that the managed object class can be deleted by the agent in response to a deletion instruction from the management manager.

- ACTIONS: Indicates possible action requests for the iQ managed object class. It is possible to define multiple actions.

-NOTIFICATIONS: Indicates notifications generated from the managed object class. It is possible to define multiple notifications.

As shown in FIG. 11, the management attribute template is composed of the following items.

-VALtlE-TYPE: Indicates the type of value of the attribute.

- DATA 5YNTAX: Indicates the syntax of the data of the attribute.

-PERMITED VALUE: Indicates the range of possible values for the attribute.

As shown in FIG. 12, the action template is composed of the following items.

- DATA 5YNTAX: Indicates the syntax of data when executing the action.

- RESULT 5YNTAX: Indicates the syntax of the data as a result of executing the action.

As shown in FIG. 13, the notification template is composed of the following items.

- DATA 5YNTAX: Indicates the syntax of data when executing the notification.

- RESLILT 5YNTAX: Indicates the syntax of data as a result of executing the notification.

Although examples of management information definition templates have been shown above, items of each template may be added as necessary, or other new templates may be defined.

Managed object class information 200 defines management information of a managed object class. A characteristic of managed object classes is that they inherit management information, and FIG. 14 shows an example of definition information for managed object classes that uses this inheritance relationship. In this example, networks, systems, devices, hardware, software, lines, etc. are first defined as managed object classes. Furthermore, PBX and packet switching equipment are defined as subclasses of the device class.

15 and 16 show examples in which the managed object classes Top and Network among the managed object classes shown in FIG. 14 are defined using the managed object class definition template shown in FIG. 10. For example, as shown in Figure 14, the Top management object class has object as an attribute.
c]ass attribute. In the example of FIG. 15, other terms in FIG. 10 are not described, but this means that the information corresponding to these terms is T op
Indicates that the managed object class does not have it. Further, FIG. 16 shows an example of definition information of the Network management object class. In this example, N
The network managed object class has attributes administrativeState (operational state) and operationalstate (operational state), and furthermore, the managed object class can be created and deleted, and as an event report.
tribute-ChangeEventReport
(attribute value change report). In addition, in this description, T
Since the OP management object class is defined, this Network management object class is Top
Management information held by the managed object class, that is, obj
This indicates that the ectclass attribute is inherited. Therefore, a managed object class called network has objectcl as an attribute.
ass, administrative state,
and operationalstate.

Each of the above attributes and event reports, as well as the managed object class, are provided in the attribute definition templates shown in FIGS. 11-13.

Examples of these are shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively. Note that in this embodiment, actions are omitted.

Figure 17 shows an example of attribute definition.
The possible values of the stratj and veState attributes are of the INTEGER type, indicating that the values are 0, 1°2.

Figure 18 shows an example of an event report: AttributeChangeEventReport
This is an example in which t is described using a notification information definition template. This description indicates that the attribute type and its value are reported as a pair.

Above, examples of managed object class information, attribute information, and event report information constituting a managed object class information file that implements the present invention have been outlined. In the present invention, a managed object class information file contains management information regarding all managed object classes, all attribute information, and event report information existing in a managed network.

FIG. 19 shows the logical conceptual structure of the managed object instance information file in the network configuration shown in FIG. exist. An example of an inclusion relationship is, for example, multiple PBXs.
A network constituted by is a managed object instance whose managed object class is network, and this network managed object instance includes each PBX as a managed object instance.

In the example of FIG. 19, the managed network 10
01 is the managed object instance Network
l, and the managed object instances N1 to N3 of the device class and the managed object instances L1 to L3 of the line class that this includes respectively point to the pointer P.
It is pointed by L-P6. These pointings express the inclusion relationship of each managed object instance.

Each managed object instance uses a pointer such as Pnn to point to an area that stores the value of the attribute corresponding to each managed object instance. In the example shown in Figure 19, Network 1 is pointing with pointer PO, and Netgo
The value of each attribute of rk1 is set. In this example, the objectclass attribute is network, and the operational status and operational status are 1 and 2, respectively.

Note that the 19th example @ shows an example of the logical structure of managed object instance information, and other structures may be used.

The three types of management information necessary to realize the present invention have been explained above.Next, we will explain how the network management system of the present invention, that is, the management manager, performs processing using these management information. do.

As shown in FIG. 1, the network management system of the present invention includes a management information change control unit 28 for controlling the management information, a display 11, a keyboard 12, and a mouse 13.
a man-machine interface control unit 10 that executes processing with man-machine interface devices such as a management function execution unit 3o that exchanges management information and man-machine information with each of these processing units and executes actual network management functions;
It is composed of a management information communication protocol control unit 4o for exchanging management information between each of the devices N1 to N3 constituting the network and the management function execution unit 30.

FIG. 9 shows a module configuration of the functions of the management information change control section 28 in FIG. 1. As can be seen from this figure, the management information control change control unit 28 accesses the management information file and updates this data in response to requests from the man-machine interface request processing module 21, the management function execution control module 25, and each of these modules. It consists of a group of modules to be controlled, namely a management information definition template information control module 22, a managed object class information control module 23, and a managed object instance information control module 24. FIG. 20 shows a schematic flow of processing of the management information change control unit 28.

The man-machine interface request processing module 21
When a management information definition request is received from the man-machine interface control 10 via the interface, it is determined which type of management information definition request it is. If the definition request is a definition of managed object class information, the information is further determined and a request is made to the management information definition template file control unit 22 for the corresponding management information definition template. The management information definition template file control unit 22 obtains the requested template and passes it to the man-machine interface request processing module 21. The man-machine interface section displays this template information, provides necessary guidance, and creates management information corresponding to the definition template. When the creation of new management information is completed, the man-machine interface control section 21 sends this information to the managed object class information control module 23.

The managed object class information control module 23 stores the transmitted information in a managed object class information file according to its type. The outline of these processes is realized by each process 508-515 in FIG.

Next, the method of defining a managed object instance will be explained. Upon receiving a request to define a managed object instance from the man-machine interface 10, the man-machine interface request processing module 26 first defines an instance of the managed object class to be defined (502).

Defining an instance here specifically means adding it to the managed object instance information shown in FIG. 19. To give a specific example, for example, Netsark
If one more node (N4) is added to Network 1, the number of pointing targets for Network 1 increases by one, and a managed object instance corresponding to N4 is newly defined.

Next, it is set which managed object class this managed object instance belongs to (503). This makes it clear what kind of attributes and event reporting the newly defined managed object instance has, displays the attributes to be further defined (504), and sets the value of each attribute. Possible values for these set values are described in the attribute template (shown in FIG. 16) of the managed object class information file 200, and the set values can be checked (506) L.
, if it is incorrect, request resetting.

If the value of the target managed object instance is correctly set, the information is stored in the managed object instance information file. The resulting managed object instance information is shown using dotted lines in FIG. 19. Next, the processing of the management function will be described. The management function in the present invention consists of two processes.

That is, a process of receiving report notification information of an event occurring in each managed object instance.

This is a process of transmitting a management operating system to each managed object instance.

FIG. 21 shows a schematic processing flow when an event report notification is received. When the management function execution control unit 30 receives an event report notification from each managed object instance via management information communication protocol control (600), it first obtains the managed object class of the managed object instance that generated the report ( 60
1).

Then by the asked managed object class.

Determine whether the received event report is appropriate for the managed object class via management information control (6
02). If the received event report is not valid for the managed object class, the received event report is discarded. If the event report is correct, further obtain definition information for the event report via management information control (603);
The received event information is interpreted according to this definition information (605).

The content of the received event report that needs to be reflected in the managed object instance information file as information about the managed object instance that generated the event is reflected via management information control (607).

FIG. 22 shows a schematic flow of processing in executing a management operation on a managed object instance. In this example, it is assumed that requests for management operations are made by the operator of the network management system.

When an operator requests a management operation on a managed object instance of a managed network, this request is passed to the management function execution control via the man-machine interface control 10 (700). The management function execution control determines which class the relevant managed object instance belongs to via the management information control (701)
. Using the management object class obtained in this way, if there is an error in the management operation by management information control, the operator is notified of the error via the man-machine interface (704).

If the management operation is correct, issuing it via the management information communication protocol control and receiving a response of the operation result (705) may result in a change in the attribute value as a result of the management operation, but is not necessary. In this case, it is reflected in the value of the instance in the managed object instance information file via management information control.

The present invention has been described above on the assumption that the management manager has all the management information, but in order to realize the present invention, it is not necessary for the management manager to have all of this management information. This may be realized by providing the control function 20 with a function of collecting management information held by the management agent as necessary. For example, when a management manager does not have all the managed object instance information managed by a certain management agent and executes a management operation, it may collect necessary managed object instance information from the management agents and use that information. This can be achieved not only for managed object instance information but also for managed object class information.

The present invention has been explained above using the relationship between each device configuring a network and a network management system. Even in the case where a subnetwork management system is provided for each of these subnetworks, and an overall management system that is connected to the subnetwork management system and manages the entire network is provided, this can be realized in the same manner as in this embodiment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the expression of an object identifier when exchanging management information regarding a managed object class can be shortened, so the amount of information transferred between a management manager and a management agent can be reduced, and the amount of information transferred between a management manager and a management agent can be reduced. The performance of transmission processing and analysis processing at the time of reception can be improved.

It also reduces the amount of information transferred.

Specific effects include the following.

First, even when performing management operations on managed object instances or receiving event information from each managed object instance, the validity of these event information can be checked, which prevents incorrect management. This can be reduced. Furthermore, since managed object instances are represented by hierarchical numerical values, it is possible to reduce the amount of management information exchanged between the management manager and the management agent, and to speed up management information search processing. Furthermore, it is possible to guarantee the consistency of the contents of management information and shorten the guarantee time when performing management.

Second, in the definition of managed object classes, attribute event reports, etc., the definition content is guided by the management information definition template, which reduces the occurrence of incorrect definitions in these various information definitions8. . Also.

Since the definition of managed object instance information is also guided by the managed object class information, incorrect definitions are reduced in the definition of each piece of management information of a managed object instance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network management system (management manager) that implements the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a network management system to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an object identifier. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a containment tree of management agents. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a reversal sequence between a management manager and a management agent. 6th
The figure is a diagram showing an outline of processing by the management manager. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of processing by the management agent. FIG. 8 shows the conceptual configuration of network management based on object orientation. FIG. 9 is a detailed configuration diagram of the management information control unit of the network management system shown in FIG. 1. 10 to 13 are diagrams showing examples of templates for defining management information. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the inheritance relationship of managed object classes. 1st
5 to 16 are examples of definitions of managed object classes. 1st
Figure 7 shows an example of attribute information definition. FIG. 18 is an example of the definition of notification information. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the conceptual structure of managed object instance information. FIG. 20 shows a schematic flow of processing for defining managed object class information and managed object instance information in the network management system. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a schematic flow of processing when event information is received in the network management system. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a general flow of a management operation request transmission process in a network management system; FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmission frame exchanged between a management manager and a management agent; FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining a bit image of a transmission frame based on the ISO standard, and FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining a bit image of an abbreviated identifier that can be used according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Network management system, 10... Man-machine interface control, 21... Management manager and identifier management function, 210... Identifier management function of management agent, 20... Management information control, 28...・Management information change control, 30...Management function execution control, 100・
・・Management information definition template information file, 200・
・Managed object class information file, 300・Managed object instance information file, N1 to N3
...Network component equipment, 1000.1001...
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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Consisting of a plurality of networks composed of a plurality of communication devices, a plurality of agents connected to at least one communication device to manage each network, and a manager connected to each agent. and the manager and the agent manage the network by mutually exchanging network management information including an identifier string for identifying an arbitrary managed target and the type of processing to be performed on the managed target. In the network management system, the manager and the agent manage multiple management targets managed by the agent.
It is configured in a hierarchical tree structure based on a predetermined master-slave relationship, and a memory for storing the containing tree information created by assigning different identifiers to managed targets in the same hierarchy, and and a processor for exchanging network management information, and when setting up an association with the agent, the manager may omit an identifier string for specifying any management target to be included in the network management information. notifying the agent of the first identifier string to be used, and storing the first identifier string in the internal memory of the manager in response to an acknowledgment from the agent;
After the association is set, network management information is created with the first identifier omitted, and the network management information received from the agent is stored in the memory along with the identifier string included in the network management information. A network management system characterized in that a management target specified by the agent is specified by using the first identifier string. 2. The agent extracts the first identifier from the network management information received from the manager when setting the association, stores it in the memory, and sends the confirmation response to the manager; After the association is set, network management information is created with the first identifier omitted and sent to the manager, and the network management information received from the manager is composed of the identifier string included in the network management information and the above. 2. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the management target specified by the manager is specified by using the first identifier string stored in a memory. 3. Consisting of a plurality of networks composed of a plurality of communication devices, a plurality of agents connected to at least one communication device to manage each network, and a manager connected to each agent, the manager and the above In a network management system, the network is managed by an agent and an agent mutually exchanging network management information including an identifier string for specifying a managed target and the type of processing to be performed on the managed target, The manager and the agent manage multiple management targets managed by the agent.
It is configured in a hierarchical tree structure based on a predetermined master-slave relationship, and a memory for storing the containing tree information created by assigning different identifiers to managed targets in the same hierarchy, and and a processor for exchanging network management information, and when setting up an association with the manager, the agent may omit an identifier string for specifying any management target to be included in the network management information. Notify the manager of the first identifier string to be used, store the first identifier string in the internal memory of the agent in response to a confirmation response from the manager, and after setting the association, Network management information is created with the first identifier omitted and sent to the manager, and the network management information received from the manager includes the identifier string included in the network management information and the above information stored in the memory. A network management system characterized in that a management target designated by the manager is specified by using a first identifier string. 4. The manager extracts the first identifier from the network management information received from the agent during the association setting, stores it in the memory, and sends the confirmation response to the agent;
After the association is set, network management information is created with the first identifier omitted and sent to the agent, and the network management information received from the agent is the identifier string included in the network management information. 4. The network management system according to claim 3, wherein the management target specified by the agent is specified by using the first identifier string stored in the memory. 5. A network consisting of a network in which multiple communication devices and information processing devices are interconnected, a management agent that manages each device, and a management manager that interconnects each of these management agents. In a network management system where an agent and the management manager centrally manage the network by exchanging management information regarding managed objects existing in each device, the management manager and the management agent exchange management information regarding the managed object. When representing a managed object instance, a containment tree is constructed based on the containment relationship of managed objects, and in the containment tree, for any managed object instance, each managed object instance that is directly contained within its range is By assigning different identification numbers and hierarchically combining these identification numbers in the order of the containment tree to represent a managed object instance,
A network management system that identifies managed object instances between a management manager and a management agent. 6. In Section 5, each management agent can arbitrarily define the identification number of the managed object instance that is the root of the containment tree for each management agent, and the containment trees of multiple management agents are unified in the management manager. Create a containment tree for the entire network, assign identification numbers to managed object instances that serve as the root of the containment tree for each management agent so as not to overlap each other, and maintain a correspondence table between them in the management manager; This updated identification number is hierarchically combined to express the managed object instance as the identification number of the managed object instance in the man-machine interface, while the identification number of the managed object instance in communication between the management manager and the management agent. The network management system is characterized in that the conversion is performed using the correspondence table and the identification number defined in the management agent is used. 7. When management information regarding each managed object instance is exchanged between multiple management agents that manage one or more managed object instances and mutually connected management managers, the identification of the managed object instance is used as a relative identifier. In a network management system that uses a sequence of Create a unified tree for the entire network, and for the managed object instance that is the root of each management agent, assign a relative distinguished name in the management manager independently of the relative distinguished name assigned by each management agent, and then A correspondence table is maintained in the management manager, and a managed object instance is represented on the man-machine interface using a relative distinguished name assigned in the management manager.The correspondence table is used in communication between the management manager and the management agent. A network management system characterized in that the conversion is performed using a relative distinguished name given by a management agent. 8. In Section 5, both the management manager, the management agent, and the management manager have the function of holding any instance of the containing tree of managed object instances managed by the management agent, and the management manager and the management In communication between agents, means for updating the settings of the managed object instance held by each other and the identification number of the managed object instance at the time of communication between the management manager and the management agent are sequentially concatenated, or the above management manager and A network management system comprising: a protocol means for distinguishing between management object instances mutually held by management agents and whether identification numbers of lower managed object instances are sequentially concatenated. 9. In Section 7, both the management manager, the management agent, and the management manager have the function of holding any instance of the containing tree of managed object instances managed by the management agent, and the management manager and the management In communication between agents, means for updating the settings of the managed object instance held by each other, and a means for sequentially concatenating the relative identification name of the managed object instance during communication between the management manager and management agent, or the above management manager and management agent. 1. A network management system comprising: a protocol means for distinguishing between managed object instances mutually held by management agents as sequential concatenations of relative identifiers of lower managed object instances. 10. In a network configured by interconnecting a plurality of communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information regarding managed objects existing in each device, the representation of managed object identifiers for identifying the type of management information is based on specific components of the managed object identifier system. When the management association is set up, the management manager and management agent negotiate with each other which component to start with, and from then on, while the management association is set up, all A network management system characterized in that an object identifier of management information of a component is expressed from the component. 11. In a network configured by interconnecting multiple communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information related to managed objects existing in each device, an object identifier is an expression of an object identifier used to identify the type of management information for both management managers and management agents. Provide a function to manage which component of the system to start from, and use the management function to set mutually which component to start from, as necessary, after setting up the association between the management manager and the management agent. A network management system characterized in that an object identifier set by the function is used thereafter to represent an object identifier of management information exchanged between a management manager and a management agent. 12. In Section 7, a function is provided between the management manager and the management agent to group managed object instances and manage, for each managed object instance group, from which component of the object identifier the representation of the object identifier starts. , After setting the association between the management manager and the management agent using the management function, mutually configure which component of the object identifier to start from for each managed object instance as necessary, and use the management function to set the association between the management manager and the management agent. A network management system characterized in that a set object identifier is used to represent an object identifier of management information exchanged between a management manager and a management agent. 13. In a network configured by interconnecting multiple communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information regarding managed objects existing in each device, the management manager has only information on the managed object classes to be managed, and only information on managed object instances is stored in the management manager. has information only on managed object instances regarding the relationship between each communication device and information processing device, and queries each management agent as necessary for information regarding managed object instances within the communication device and information processing device. A network management system characterized by: 14. In a network configured by interconnecting a plurality of communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information about managed objects existing in each device, the management manager has only information about managed object instances to be managed, and only information about managed object classes. A network management system is characterized in that it queries each management agent as necessary. 15. In a network configured by interconnecting multiple communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information about managed objects existing in each device, the management manager only has managed object instances related to the relationships between each device as managed object instances to be managed. What is claimed is: 1. A network management system that has information about managed object class information and managed object instance information in each device, and queries each management agent as necessary about managed object class information and managed object instance information within each device. 16. In claim 5, in response to addition of a managed object instance managed by a management agent,
A network management system characterized by providing guidance on added managed object instance information when adding or changing managed object instance information of a management manager. 17. In claim 5, the representation of a managed object instance when exchanging management information regarding a managed object instance between a management manager and a management agent is defined as A network management system characterized in that a managed object instance is represented by different numerical values and these numbers are hierarchically combined according to an inclusion relationship of managed object instances. 18. In a network configured by interconnecting a plurality of communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information about managed objects existing in each device, it defines managed object classes, managed object attributes, actions for managed objects, and events that occur in managed objects. template information, managed object class information that defines the class information, attribute information, action information, and notification information of the managed object to be managed, and managed object instance information that corresponds to the configuration of the actual managed object instance. A network management system characterized by: 19. In a network configured by interconnecting multiple communication devices and information processing devices, between a management agent existing in each device and a management manager interconnecting each of these management agents, In a network management system that centrally manages a network by exchanging management information about managed objects existing in each device, it defines managed object classes, managed object attributes, actions for managed objects, and events that occur in managed objects. template information, class information of the managed object to be managed, managed object class information that defines information such as attribute information, action information, notification, etc., and managed object instance information that corresponds to the actual managed object. , when adding or updating a managed object class, the managed object definition template information is used to provide guidance on configuration information, and when defining a managed object instance, the managed object class information is used to provide guidance. A network management system characterized by the ability to easily set configuration information.