JPH0696005A - Interface signal operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To generate a signal that confirms that it conforms to the interface contract. [Structure] The change command generation unit 3 outputs a command for changing an interface signal transmitted between the channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2, and the intermediary device 4 changes the interface signal according to the command to change the channel. Output to the device 1 or the input / output control device 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interface signal operating device for operating an interface signal transmitted between a channel device and an input / output control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A channel device, which is a device for exchanging data between an input / output device and a main memory device independently of the operation of the central processing device, based on a command from a central processing unit (CPU), The interface with the input / output control device for controlling the input / output device includes a control signal called TAG and BU.
An interface signal composed of a data signal called S exists, and the channel device and the input / output control device operate normally by transmitting and receiving this interface signal at a prescribed timing. A peripheral device is connected to the input / output device.

The transmission / reception timing of such an interface signal is slightly different depending on the type of the channel device to be controlled and the type of the input / output control device connected to it, and the order between a plurality of signals and the order in accordance with the interface protocol. The allowable range of the time difference is set as the specified value.

The channel device must operate normally with respect to any input / output control device that adheres to the interface protocol. That is, the prescribed value of the interface contract has an allowable range as described above, and if the input / output control device operates within this allowable range, the channel device must correspondingly operate normally. Some I / O controllers may operate at the limits of tolerance and some I / O controllers may operate in the middle of the tolerance. As the channel device, both input / output control devices are within the specified values, so they must be able to handle normally. However, conventionally, it was difficult to create such a state without actually connecting the input / output control device. Moreover, there are numerous input / output control devices made according to the same interface protocol, and it is difficult to connect all of these input / output control devices in reality.

Further, when an abnormality occurs in the input / output control device, the channel device judges that the abnormal operation is abnormal, notifies the central processing unit of the occurrence of the abnormality, and notifies the abnormality signal. The subsequent signal processing must be carried out normally. In order to guarantee that the channel device normally performs such an operation, a signal indicating an abnormal state of the specified input / output control device is generated when necessary, and the operation of the channel device must be verified. I won't.

That is, the channel device must be able to determine that any abnormal signal is abnormal. Without such a judgment ability, in some cases, the abnormality of the I / O controller is regarded as normal, erroneous processing is performed, the channel device itself falls into an abnormal state, and it is correct for subsequent signals. It may not be possible to continue processing.

[0007]

Conventionally, in order to generate an abnormal state of the input / output control device, the power of the operating input / output control device is cut off, or the interface signal between the channel device and the input / output control device is grounded. I was doing and cutting. Although such a method can generate a limited range of abnormal conditions, it has poor reproducibility and continuously transmits other normal or abnormal signals after the abnormal signal generated in this way. I couldn't. When a failure occurred, the investigation was conducted by predicting the situation from the event that occurred.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an interface signal operating device capable of generating an abnormal signal with reproducibility and tracing a communication state.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the first principle of the present invention. A first invention is a change command generator 3 for generating a change command to change one or more of interface signals transmitted between a channel device 1 and an input / output control device 2 for controlling a peripheral device; The intermediary device 4 is provided between the channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2 and passes the interface signal as it is or passes the interface signal after being changed by the change signal.

FIG. 2 is a second principle diagram of the present invention. A second invention is a change command generating section 3 for generating a change command for changing one or a plurality of interface signals transmitted between the channel device 1 and an input / output control device 2 for controlling a peripheral device, and Channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2
And an intermediary device 4 which is provided between the interface device and passes the interface signal as it is or which is changed by the change signal, and a trace which stores a signal passing through the intermediary device 4 and outputs the stored signal as an interface signal. The memory unit 5 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a third principle diagram of the present invention. A third aspect of the present invention is a change command generating section 3 for generating a change command for changing one or a plurality of interface signals transmitted between the channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2 for controlling a peripheral device; Channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2
And an intermediary device 4 which is provided between the interface device and passes the interface signal as it is or which is changed by the change signal, and a trace which stores a signal passing through the intermediary device 4 and outputs the stored signal as an interface signal. The memory unit 5 and the trace memory editing unit 6 that edits the signal stored in the trace memory unit 5 are provided.

[0012]

Operation: The change command generator 3 sends 1 of the interface signal.
When the change command for changing one or more is output, the intermediary device 4 changes the signal according to the change command and transmits the interface signal passing therethrough. The intermediary device 4 changes the interface signal going to the channel device 1 and the interface signal going to the input / output control device 2, or allows the interface signal to pass through without change, and sends various interface signals to the channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2. You can As a result, the same test as when various input / output control devices 2 are connected to the channel device 1 can be performed. The change command generator 3 outputs a change signal with reproducibility, so that the response of the channel device 1 to the change signal can be analyzed.

Further, by storing the interface signal passing through the intermediary device 4 in the trace memory unit 5 and enabling the stored interface signal to be output, it is possible to easily generate an abnormal signal and analyze it. . If the change command generation unit 3 issues a command to generate various abnormal signals, and the signal whose interface signal is changed by this is stored in the trace memory unit 5, the stored signal may be used thereafter. It becomes easy to generate an interface signal as a signal. Also, the intermediary device 4
Since all interface signals passing through are stored,
It becomes easy to analyze the operations of the channel device 1 and the input / output control device 2 for these signals.

By changing the signal stored in the trace memory unit 5 by the interface memory editing unit 6,
Further, since various signals can be created, it is possible to reproduce all the states defined by the interface protocol and test the channel device 1 by connecting a small number of input / output control devices 2.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. The interface signal operation device of the present embodiment performs an operation of changing the signal or passing it as it is with respect to an interface signal transmitted between the channel device 10 and the input / output control device 20. The true / false fixed and time difference output instructing section 30 outputs a command to fix 0 or 1 of the interface signal as it is without changing it or to change the time difference between the two signals. Here, fixing to 0 or 1 is realized by a short circuit or disconnection with another 0 or 1 signal or a ground line. Fixing 0 or 1 here is called degeneration.

The intermediary device 40 includes an interface input / output unit 41 connected to the channel device 10, an interface input / output unit 41, an intermediary unit 42 connected to the true / false fixed / time difference output instruction unit 30, and an intermediary unit 42. The memory connection unit 43 to be connected, the mediation unit 44 connected to the memory connection unit 43, the true / false fixed and time difference output instruction unit 30, the mediation unit 44 and the input / output control device.
It is composed of an interface input / output unit 45 provided between 20.

The trace memory unit 50 stores a trace memory input unit 51 for receiving an interface signal passing from the memory connection unit 43, a memory unit 52 for storing the received interface signal, and a memory stored in the memory unit 52 as a memory. Trace memory output unit 53 that outputs to the connection unit 43
It is composed of

As the trace memory editing device 60, a work station, a personal computer or the like is used, and after changing the interface signal stored in the memory section 52 to edit it into a desired signal, it is stored in the memory section 52 again.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the overall operation of the embodiment. The channel device 10 exchanges data between the main storage device and the input / output device according to a command from the central processing unit 70. This data is exchanged with the input / output device via the interface signal operation device 80 and the input / output control device 20. To be done. The interface signal operating unit 80 stores the passing interface signal in the trace memory unit 50, but when the abnormal signal is generated, the channel unit 10 detects this and informs the central processing unit 70. Further, the signal operation for giving the signal stored in the trace memory unit 50 to the input / output control device 20 as the signal from the channel device 10 is also performed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the interface signal. The interface signal includes a control signal and a data signal. The Bus In signal indicates the data signal from the input / output control device 20, and the Bus Out signal indicates the data signal from the channel device 10.

Next, the control signal will be described. Operatio
nal Out is a signal output from the channel device 10, and the operations of all the input / output control devices 20 are interlocked with this. Request
In is a signal output from the input / output control device 20 and requests a startup sequence for the input / output control device 20 to operate. Hold Out is a signal output from the channel device 10,
Indicates that the I / O controller is being selected. Se
lect Out is a signal output from the channel device 10, and selects the input / output device connected to the input / output control device 20. Select In is the I / O controller for Select Out 20
Response signal indicates that no I / O device has been selected.

Address Out is a signal output from the channel device 10, and the input / output control device 20 decodes the value on Bus Out as a device address. Operetional In is output from the input / output control device 20 and indicates that the input / output device has been selected. Address In is output from the input / output control device 20 and indicates that the device address currently selected is on Bus In. Command Out is output from channel device 10
s Out Indicates that the value on is a command to the selected I / O device.

Status In is output from the input / output control device 20 and indicates that the value on Bus In is the status information of the selected input / output device. Service In is output from the input / output control device 20 and indicates that the preparation of received data is completed. Servic
e Out is output from channel device 10, and Status In, Serv
It is the response signal of ice In. Suppress Out is a channel device
It is output from 10 and indicates that the special sequence is entered.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the Operational In signal of FIG. 6 is delayed to the specified value limit. True / False fixed as shown in Fig. 4,
By the output from the trace memory unit 50 that stores the time difference output instructing unit 30 or stores the signal, the signal of the specified value limit is generated as a signal from the input / output control device 20 in this way,
It is investigated whether or not the channel device 10 can properly cope with this.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the Address In signal of FIG. 6 is degenerated to 0. The channel device 10 detects this Address In signal as an abnormal signal, contacts the central processing unit 70, and checks whether the subsequent signals can be processed properly.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. The interface signal from the channel device 10 is input to the mediation unit 42 via the interface input / output unit 41. True / False fixed,
The time difference output instructing unit 30 is an intermediary unit for outputting any one signal or a plurality of signals fixed or delayed by a designated time.
When instructing 42, the intermediary unit 42 selects
Memory connection 43
Is transmitted to the mediation unit 44 via the. The interface signal sent to the memory connection unit 43 is stored in the memory unit 52 at a predetermined interval by the trace memory input unit 51. The interface signal is transmitted from the mediation unit 44 to the input / output control device 20 via the interface output unit 45.

The interface signal from the input / output control unit 20 is input to the mediation unit 44 via the interface input / output unit 45. The true / false fixed, time difference output instructing unit 30 instructs the intermediary unit 44 to output one signal or a plurality of signals with a fixed or delayed time, and the intermediary unit 44 fixes or delays the corresponding signal. It is transmitted to the mediation unit 42 via the memory connection unit 43. The trace memory unit 50 stores this interface signal in the memory unit 52. The signal from the mediation unit 42 is input to the channel device 10 via the interface input / output unit 41.

By the above operation, the channel device is originally
The signal transmitted / received between 10 and the input / output control device 20 can be changed to a desired signal, an abnormal state of the input / output control device 20 can be created, or a signal having a timing outside the interface protocol can be created. It becomes possible.

Depending on the instruction of the true / false fixed and time difference output instruction section 30, the channel device 10 cannot respond to the abnormal signal,
A situation may occur in which the subsequent signals cannot be processed correctly. At that time, what kind of signal and how the signal operated are stored in the trace memory unit 50, which is useful for analysis.

The data stored in the trace memory unit 50 is read from the trace memory editing unit 60 and displayed on the screen. As a result, the situation in which the abnormal state has occurred can be investigated in detail. Further, the trace memory editing unit 60 combines and changes the read data, edits the data, and stores the edited data in the trace memory unit 50. This edited data is sent to the memory connection unit 43 and is output to the input / output control device 20 as if it was output from the channel device 10 and as output from the input / output control device 20 to the channel device 10. can do. By doing so, it is possible to reproduce events that occurred in the past.

FIG. 9 is an operation flow chart of this embodiment. First, an intermediary method is set (step 101). This is set by the true / false fixed and time difference output instructing section 30 as to which signal true / false is fixed or which time delay between the signals is delayed. The trace memory section 50 starts tracing,
The signal input from the memory connection section 43 is stored in the memory section 52 (step 102), and the operation of the channel device 10 is started (step 103). If the data changed by the intermediary unit 42 is within the prescribed range of the interface contract (step 104), ICC (Interface Control Check)
), That is, if an abnormality in the interface signal is detected,
Channel device 10 is operating abnormally (step
107), if it is not detected, it means normal operation (step 108). If it is out of the specified range in step 104, it means that the channel device 10 has operated normally when the abnormality of the interface signal is detected (step 108),
If it is not detected, it means that an abnormal operation has occurred (step 10
7).

At this point, the trace of the trace memory section 50 is stopped (step 119), and it is checked whether or not the operation of the channel device 10 is reproduced by outputting the traced signal (step 110). Step 10
Return to 1 and consider the next mediation method. If it is to be reproduced, check whether the trace data needs to be changed in the trace memory editing unit 60 (step 111), and if necessary,
Change (step 112). An instruction to input the trace data from the trace memory unit 50 via the memory connection unit 43 is started (step 113), and when the input is completed, the input operation instruction is stopped (step 114). Next step 110
Return to and consider the necessity of reproducing this operation.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention can create various states between the channel device 10 and the input / output control device 20 by changing the interface signal. By connecting only a small number of input / output control devices 20, it is possible to check whether or not the channel device 10 operates normally with respect to the signal of the interface contract. Further, even when an abnormal state occurs, a detailed investigation can be performed by analyzing the trace memory.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a second principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a third principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an interface signal.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the delay of one signal is increased.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example in which one signal is degenerated to 0.

FIG. 9 is an operation flowchart of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 channel device 20 I / O controller 30 True / False fixed, time difference output instruction unit 40 Interface signal operation device 41, 45 Interface I / O unit 42, 44 Mediation unit 43 Memory connection unit 50 Trace memory unit 51 Trace memory input unit 52 Memory Part 53 Trace memory output part 60 Trace memory edit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A change command generator for generating a change command for changing one or more of interface signals transmitted between a channel device (1) and an input / output control device (2) for controlling a peripheral device. (3), and an intermediary device (4) that is provided between the channel device (1) and the input / output control device (2) and passes the interface signal as it is or passes the interface signal after being changed by the change signal. An interface signal operation device characterized by the above. 2. A change command generation unit for generating a change command for changing one or more of interface signals transmitted between a channel device (1) and an input / output control device (2) for controlling a peripheral device. (3), an intermediary device (4) provided between the channel device (1) and the input / output control device (2) for passing the interface signal as it is or changing it by the change signal and passing it. An interface signal operation device comprising: a trace memory unit (5) for storing a signal passing through the intermediary device (4) and outputting the stored signal as an interface signal. 3. A change command generating section for generating a change command for changing one or more of interface signals transmitted between a channel device (1) and an input / output control device (2) for controlling a peripheral device. (3), an intermediary device (4) provided between the channel device (1) and the input / output control device (2) for passing the interface signal as it is or changing it by the change signal and passing it. A trace memory section (5) for storing a signal passing through the intermediary device (4) and outputting the stored signal as an interface signal, and a trace memory editing section (for editing the signal stored in the trace memory section (5) ( 6) An interface signal operation device comprising: