JPH0468457A - Manager device for network control system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manager device for a network management system that is provided in a network system to which a plurality of agent devices are connected and manages the network system.

In order to improve reliability and maintainability, etc., and operate network systems efficiently, conventional technology network systems have been developed, for example, by the Information Processing Society of Japan Multimedia Communications and Distributed Processing Study Group 4.
2-11 (1989, 5, 19) is provided.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, this type of network management system includes a manager device 600 that is a management device,
Agent device 700, which is a plurality of managed devices...
It is configured with the following.

The manager device 600 transmits a management operation message indicating a management operation instruction to each agent device 700..., while each agent device 700...
The manager device 600 is configured to send management operation response messages such as management information and management operation completion information in response to the management operation messages, as well as notification messages for notifying occurrences of failures, changes in status, etc. There is.

The manager device 600 and the agent device 7
00 specifically has a configuration as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

In FIG. 4, 601 is a management application processing means, 701 is a managed application processing means, and 602
- 702 is a general-purpose logical path processing means, 603 and 703 are general-purpose command processing means, 604 and 704 are general-purpose communication protocol processing means, and 605 and 705 are event queues.

The general-purpose command processing means 603 and 703, for example, as shown in FIG.
A command processing library is provided that performs various command processes such as SET command processing for sending management information to 0, and any one of the command processes can be selectively performed.

Furthermore, the general-purpose communication protocol processing means 604 and 704
A communication protocol processing library for processing various communication protocols is provided, and one of the communication protocol processing is selectively performed.

In such a network management system, network management is performed through the following operations.

For example, when the manager device 690 requests the agent device 700 to send management information using a GET command, the management application processing means 601 outputs a management operation instruction of the GET command to the general-purpose command processing means 603 by starting the management application program. do.

The general-purpose command processing means 603 outputs a management service by processing a GET command in a command processing library.

The general-purpose communication protocol processing means 604 transmits a management operation message indicating a GET command to the agent device 700 by performing predetermined communication protocol processing in the communication protocol processing library based on the management service.

In the agent device 700, the general-purpose communication protocol processing means 704 extracts the management service from the received management operation message. The general-purpose command processing means 703 restores the management operation instruction of the GET command output from the management application processing means 601 in the manager device 600, and processes the managed application processing means 70.
Output to 1.

The managed application processing means 701 performs processing according to the GET command based on the management operation instruction,
Output the requested management information as a management operation response. This management operation response is output as a management operation response message via the general-purpose command processing means 703 and the general-purpose communication protocol processing means 704, and is sent to the manager device 600.
It is sent to the management application processing means 601 via the general-purpose communication protocol processing means 604 and the general-purpose command processing means 603.

Furthermore, when an event such as a failure or a change in status occurs in the agent device 700, the managed application processing means 701 outputs a notification. This notification, like the management operation response described above, is sent to the management application processing means 601 of the manager device 600, and the management application processing means 601 processes the notification.

By the way, the above notification message is sent irregularly depending on the occurrence of an event in each agent device 700 . Therefore, manager device 6
The general-purpose communication protocol processing means 604 of No. 00 may receive a notification message during the process of transmitting a management operation message or during the process of receiving a management operation response message.

In this case, the general-purpose communication protocol processing means 604 temporarily stores the received notification message in the event queue 605, and after completing the reception process of the management operation response message, reads the notification message from the event queue 605, and receives the notification message. General-purpose command processing means 603
The notification is sent to the management application processing means 601 via.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the manager device 600 as described above, when a notification message is received during the process of sending a management operation message, the notification message is temporarily stored in the event queue 605 and the reception process is immediately performed. Because it doesn't happen,
This has the problem that real-time processing of notifications tends to be impaired.

In addition, when notification messages are sent from multiple agent devices 700 at the same time, the event queue 6
If 05 overflows, there is a possibility that the notification message reception process itself will not be performed.

It is also conceivable that a plurality of general-purpose logical path processing means 602 may be provided to perform multi-task processing, thereby allowing management operation message transmission processing and notification message reception processing to be performed in parallel. Since the general-purpose logical path processing means 602 requires a large storage area, etc., this results in an increase in the size of the device and manufacturing cost.

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a manager device for a network management system that can quickly and reliably perform reception processing of notification messages without significantly increasing the scale of the device.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided in a network system to which a plurality of agent devices are connected,
Through communication processing, a management operation message for performing a management operation is sent to the agent device, and a management operation response message is sent from the agent device in response to the management operation message, and a management operation response message is sent spontaneously from the agent device. In a manager device of a network management system that receives a notification message and manages a network system, a management operation that performs some of the processing in the communication processing in response to the transmission of a management operation message and the reception of a management operation response message. transmission of management operation messages, and a plurality of notification communication processing means that perform processing in parallel in response to reception of notification messages from respective agent devices;
The present invention is characterized in that a communication processing means is provided which performs communication processing in response to reception of a notification message with priority over communication processing in response to reception of a management operation response message.

Effects According to the above configuration, the management operation communication processing means of the communication processing means and the plurality of notification communication processing means each have the following functions:
A part of the communication processing is performed in parallel with the transmission of the management operation message and the reception of the management operation response message, or with the reception of the notification message from each agent device.

Further, the communication processing means performs communication processing for receiving a notification message with priority over communication processing for sending a management operation message and receiving a management operation response message.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a manager device 100 of a network management system in an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 110 is a management application processing means, 120 is a communication processing means, 130 is a command processing means, 140 is a communication protocol processing means for management operation, and 150 is a communication processing means.
is notification/management operation response message switching means, 160
160a is a communication protocol processing unit, 170 is a communication protocol processing unit selection table, 180 is a notification communication protocol processing control unit, and 190 is a service control unit.

The management application processing means 110 performs management such as grasping and controlling the state of an agent device (not shown) and detecting an abnormal state by starting a management application program.

The command processing means 130 is provided with a command processing library that performs various command processing, and the command processing means 130 is provided with a command processing library that performs various command processing.
It performs command processing based on management operation instructions such as commands, and outputs management operation services to the management operation communication protocol processing means 140. Further, command processing is performed based on the management operation response service output from the management operation communication protocol processing means 140, and a management operation response is output to the management application processing means 110. The command processing means 130 further performs command processing based on the notification service output from the notification communication protocol processing means 160, and outputs a notification to the management application processing means 110.

The management operation communication protocol processing means 140 performs communication protocol processing, such as conversion into a format according to the network and transmission method used for communication with the agent device, based on the management operation service output from the command processing means 130. , to send administrative operation messages. Also, notifications and notifications are sent from the agent device.
Communication protocol processing is performed based on the management operation response message received via the management operation response message switching means 150, and the management operation response service is output to the command processing means 130.

The notification/management operation response switching means 150 switches between the management operation response message and the notification message received from the agent device, and outputs them to the management operation communication protocol processing means 140 or the notification communication protocol processing control means 180, respectively. It has become.

The notification communication protocol processing means 160 includes the same number of communication protocol processing units 160a as the agent devices. Each of the communication protocol processing units 160a is configured to perform communication protocol processing for notification messages according to the corresponding agent device.

The communication protocol processing unit selection table 170 stores selection information indicating which agent device each of the communication protocol processing units 160a, . . . corresponds to.

When the notification communication protocol processing control unit 180 receives a notification message from the agent device via the notification/management operation response switching unit 150, the notification communication protocol processing control unit 180 selects the communication protocol processing unit 160a corresponding to the agent device based on the selection information. The received notification message is output.

As shown in FIG. 2, the service control means 190 is configured to transmit management operation messages, receive management operation response messages, and send notification messages due to the state of the manager device 100, agent devices, lines, etc. Either the state is in a state in which neither reception is possible (hereinafter referred to as a state in which management operations/notification processing is not possible), or in a state in which both are possible (hereinafter referred to as a state in which management operations/notification processing is possible), or the notification message is received. The management application processing means 110,
and controls the command processing means 130.

In the manager device 100 configured as described above, for example,
For example, when requesting the agent device to send management information using a GET command and a predetermined communication protocol, the following operations are performed.

First, when the manager device 100 is in an initialized state when the power is turned on, the service control means 190 retains state information indicating that management operations and notification processing are disabled, and the management application processing means 110 , and the command processing means 130 are controlled so as not to perform management operations and notification processing.

When the initialization state is completed and a bus is established between the manager device 100 and the agent device, the service control means 190 retains state information indicating that management operations and notification processing are possible, and performs management operations. The application processing means 110 and the command processing means 130 are permitted to perform management operations and notification processing.

Therefore, the management application processing means 110 outputs a management operation instruction of the GET command to the command processing means 130.

The command processing means 130 performs GET command processing based on the management operation instruction and outputs a management operation service, and the communication protocol processing means 140 for management operation performs communication protocol processing and sends a management operation message indicating the GET command to the agent. Send to device. More specifically, for example, it specifies the agent device that requests management information, generates data in a predetermined format that includes information indicating the requested management information, and further specifies the network and transmission method used to communicate with the agent device. The signal is converted into a format according to the format and sent as an electrical or optical signal.

The agent device receives the above management operation message,
If you send a corresponding management operation response message,
The notification/management operation response message switching means 150 receives this, detects that the message is a management operation response message, and then outputs the management operation response message to the management operation communication protocol processing means 140.

The management operation communication protocol processing means 140 performs communication protocol processing based on the management operation response message and outputs a management operation response service, and the command processing means 130
performs GET command processing and outputs a management operation response.

The management application processing means 110 performs processing such as displaying the status of the agent device, for example, based on this management operation response.

On the other hand, when the manager device 100 is in the state where the above-mentioned management operations and notification processing are possible, if a notification message notifying the occurrence of a failure or a change in status is sent from any agent device, the following occurs. An action is taken.

First, notification/management operation response message switching means 15
0 receives a notification message, detects that the message is a notification message, and then outputs the notification message to the notification communication protocol processing control means 180.

The notification communication protocol processing control means 180 notifies the service control means 190 that the notification message has been received.

Therefore, the service control means 190 holds status information indicating that management operations are disabled and notification processing is possible, and also stops the management operations of the management application processing means 110 and command processing means 130, and only performs notification processing. Control what happens. That is, even if management operations are being performed, notification processing is performed with priority.

The notification communication protocol processing control means 180 also searches the communication protocol processing unit selection table 170 to obtain selection information of the communication protocol processing unit 160a corresponding to the agent device that transmitted the notification message, and selects the communication protocol processing unit 160a as indicated by this. The communication protocol processing unit 160a is selected and a notification message is output.

The selected communication protocol processing section 160a performs communication protocol processing based on the notification message and outputs a notification service, and the command processing means 130 performs command processing and outputs a notification.

The management application processing means 110 performs processing for, for example, a failure occurring in the agent device, based on the notification output from the command processing means 130. When this process is completed, the management application processing means 1
10 notifies the service control means 190 of this fact.

Therefore, the service control means 190 retains the state information indicating that the management operation/notification processing is possible again, and cancels the inhibition of the management operation of the management application processing means 110 and the command processing means 130.

Additionally, if a notification message is sent from another agent device while the notification process is being performed as described above, the notification communication protocol processing control means 180 similarly responds to the other agent device. A notification message is output to the communication protocol processing unit 160a,
Communication protocol processing is performed in parallel, and a notification is output to the management application processing means 110.

In such a case, multiple communication protocol processing units 160a
The notification service may be output from the command processing means 130 to the command processing means 130, but since the command processing for the notification service in the command processing means 130 has a small load, the command processing means 130 outputs the notification service via the receiving capacity sofa provided in the command processing means 130. Even if multiple commands are processed in sequence, there will be no significant delay in notification processing.

When the management application processing means 110 finishes processing all the notification messages output from the agent device, it notifies the service control means 190 of this fact, and the service control means 190 informs the service control means 190 that it is ready for management operations and notification processing. management application processing means 110 and command processing means 1.
Cancel the suspension of management operations for 30.

In this way, when a notification message is received, the notification process is performed with priority over the management operation even if the management operation is being executed, and when notification messages are sent from multiple agent devices. However, since communication protocol processing is performed in parallel by a plurality of communication protocol processing units 160a provided corresponding to the respective agent devices, highly real-time processing of notifications is reliably performed. Further, the notification communication protocol processing control means 180 can be simply configured because it only needs to select a plurality of communication protocol processing sections 160a provided in advance.

Note that the network management system is ISDN (Inte
rated 5 services Digital N
For example, if the management application processing means 110 and the command processing means 1
30 corresponds to the processing performed in the application layer, while the management operation communication protocol processing means 140 and the notification communication protocol processing means 1
Although the processing performed in 60 can correspond to the processing performed in layers below the presentation layer, it is not limited to this.

In other words, in communication processing, processing that does not contribute much to the scale of the device even if multiple processing means are provided, and processing that can greatly improve real-time performance by processing in parallel, is divided into management operations and notifications. By having a separate communication processing means perform the processing, it is possible to easily achieve both real-time performance of the notification processing and miniaturization of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the present invention includes a communication processing means for management operation that performs a part of processing in communication processing, and a plurality of communication processing means for notification, and is capable of transmitting management operation messages, and communication processing means for performing communication processing for receiving notification messages with priority over communication processing for receiving management operation response messages. Or, even when communication processing is being performed in response to the reception of a management operation response message, when a notification message is received, the notification communication processing means prioritizes communication processing in response to the reception of the notification message, and multiple agent devices Even when a notification message is received from the agent device, the notification communication processing means corresponding to each agent device performs communication processing in parallel, so that the notification message reception processing that requires real-time processing can be done quickly and reliably. It has the effect of being able to do so.

Moreover, the management operation communication processing means and the notification communication processing means need only be able to perform only a part of the communication processing, and each of the notification communication processing means is Since it is only necessary to perform communication processing for the device, there is no need for an increase in the size of the device or a significant increase in manufacturing costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a manager device of a network management system in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a network management system. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional manager device and an agent device. The figure is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional general-purpose logical path processing means. communication protocol processing means, 150... notification/management operation response message switching means, 160... communication protocol processing means for notification, 160a... communication protocol processing section, 170... communication protocol processing section selection table;
180 river notification communication protocol processing control means; 190;
... Service control means agent Patent attorney Shiro Nakajima 100 ... Manager device, 110 ... Management application processing means, 120 ... Communication processing means, 13
0...Command processing means, 140...Management operation information Figure 2. Figure 3.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Provided in a network system to which multiple agent devices are connected, and transmits a management operation message for performing management operations to the agent device through communication processing, and also transmits from the agent device in response to the management operation message. In a manager device of a network management system that manages a network system by receiving a management operation response message sent to the user and a notification message sent spontaneously from an agent device, a part of the communication processing is performed as a management operation. It includes a management operation communication processing means for sending messages and receiving management operation response messages, and a plurality of notification communication processing means for performing parallel processing for receiving notification messages from each agent device. A manager device for a network management system, comprising communication processing means for performing communication processing for receiving a notification message with priority over communication processing for sending a management operation message and receiving a management operation response message. . (2) Control that holds information indicating whether or not a notification message has been received, and based on the information, stops communication processing for sending a management operation message and receiving a management operation response message when a notification message is received. 2. A manager device for a network management system according to claim 1, further comprising: means.