JPH1079759A - Communication network system and information management device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To grasp the correspondence between a terminal device and its current user and to limit communication between terminal devices based on the current user. SOLUTION: A binding server (200) manages the identification information and address of each terminal device and the identification information of the current user for each terminal device, and a DHCP server (101), a LES (103) and a terminal device.
The above information is updated in response to the notification from (105, 107).
The access control server (800) manages each attribute information of the user and the terminal device, and stores the ATM-SW (100) and the route server (104).
And the current user from the destination address in response to an inquiry from the IEEE802.3 LAN-SW (106) or the binding server (2
00) and determines whether communication is possible based on the attribute information of the user or the terminal device obtained by the inquiry, and replies.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication network system, and more particularly to an information management device suitable for a communication network system in which the connection position of a terminal device and the user change.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method for managing communication of terminal devices connected to a communication network for computers, P.M.
ockapetri “Domain Name System”, Internet Standa
rd 13, Nov. 1987 has a DNS (Domain Name System). In this system, the correspondence between a terminal device and its user is regarded as fixed, and a domain name including the name of the terminal device and the user name is managed in association with the address of the terminal device. In this system, the terminal device can know the address of the terminal device of the communication partner from the domain name of the communication partner specified by the user.

As a method of hierarchically managing resources (devices, applications, files, and the like) on a network and controlling access to them, there is X.500, which is a directory service standard established by the ITU, and the like. In a system that adopts this directory service standard, a network OS (Operating System) or the like can manage users who own each resource and manage access rights of users to each resource.

[0004] As a method of managing communication of a moving terminal device, C. Perkins has described "IP Mobility Support",
Internet Draft: draft-ietf-mobileip-protocol-15, F
eb, 1996, there is a network layer protocol for mobiles (such as Mobile IP). In a system using this protocol, even when a terminal device moves, communication can be continued without changing the network address as viewed from a higher-level application.

[0005]

A network used by a specific organization, such as a communication network in a company, includes:
You can grasp the users, and for each terminal device and each user,
There is a demand to limit the communicable parties. Also,
There is also a demand for performing communication without complicated procedures even in a situation where the use location of the terminal device is temporarily changed due to a business trip of the user or the terminal device used is changed.

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, communication (connection) between terminal devices cannot be managed based on the current user.
It was difficult to satisfy the above requirements. For example, when a user changes the terminal device to be used, a communication request for the user from another terminal device is not sent to the user. In addition, control for restricting the communication partner for the user may not be performed normally.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable various devices on a communication network to grasp the correspondence between a terminal device and its current user.

It is another object of the present invention to enable various devices on a communication network to restrict communication between terminal devices based on their current users.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an information management apparatus according to the present invention comprises a communication apparatus in which a plurality of terminal apparatuses and a communication management apparatus for managing communication between the terminal apparatuses are connected. An information management device connected to a network, wherein terminal identification information for identifying each of the terminal devices,
Storage means for storing address information assigned to the terminal device and user identification information for identifying a user of the terminal device in association with each other; and a registration request sent from the terminal device or the communication management device. In accordance with the above, the correspondence between the terminal identification information, the address information, and the user identification information held in the storage means is stored in the storage means so as to reflect the current use state of the communication network. Means for updating the stored information and, in response to the terminal identification information or address information or user identification information sent from the terminal device or the communication management device, holding the information in the storage means in correspondence with the sent information Means for returning the received information to the terminal device or the communication management device.

By using this information management device, various devices on the communication network can grasp the correspondence between the terminal device and its current user. Further, for example, a user can communicate at an arbitrary position on a network using an arbitrary terminal.

[0011] Further, the information management apparatus of the present invention comprises:
An information management device, a plurality of terminal devices, and an information management device connected to a communication network connected to a communication management device that manages communication between the terminal devices, wherein a user of the terminal device Storage means for storing user identification information for identifying the user and attribute information set for the user in association with each other; The two terminal identification information is sent to the information management device according to claim 1 according to the terminal identification information of the terminal device on the side, and the user identification information of the user of the terminal device on the calling side and the terminal device on the called side is obtained. Means,
The second method corresponds to the user identification information obtained by the means.
Means for determining whether or not the terminal devices that are to start the communication can connect with each other based on the attribute information held in the storage means, and returning the determination result to the communication management device. And

By using this information management device, various devices on the communication network can restrict communication (connection) between terminal devices based on their current users.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the network system includes an ATM-SW (100) having an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer System) exchange function and a plurality of terminal devices (computers) connected to the ATM-SW (100). Have. In addition, ATM-SW (1
00), the IEEE802.3 LAN terminal device (107) is connected to the IE.
The EE802.3 LAN switch (106) is also connected. ATM-SW
The terminal connected to (100) includes a plurality of ATM terminals (1
05) and multiple server devices that manage and control communication between terminal devices (binding server (200), access control server (800), DHCP server (101), LECS (102), LES / BUS (10
3) etc.). Each of these terminals has an AT
A function for performing M communication is provided.

The binding server (200) is connected to the ATM-SW (10
It has a function of managing address information assigned to the terminal device connected to (0) and information of the user of the terminal device. The access control server (800) has a function of managing attribute information given to users and terminal devices. These functions are realized by program processing in each server device.

Further, the ATM-SW (1
00) perform pseudo LAN (Local Aria Network) communication by LANE (LAN Emulation) protocol, and use IP (Int) as a network layer protocol.
Internet Protocol). LECS (102) and LES / BUS (103)
Is a server device for realizing communication using the LANE protocol. LES / BUS (103) is LES and BUS 2
Although the server device has two functions, in the following description,
It may be expressed as LES (103) or BUS (103) to indicate the function. For more information about the LANE protocol, see The ATM Fo
“LAN Emulation over AT” published and published by rum
M v1.0 Specification ".

In this network system, when the ATM terminal device (105) is connected to the network and starts operating,
The LES (103) managing the address of the terminal device using the ANE protocol registers the MAC address and the ATM address assigned to the ATM terminal device (105) in the binding server (200). The DHCP server (101) assigns an IP address to the ATM terminal device (105) and the IEEE802.3 LAN terminal device (107) that have started operation, and simultaneously assigns the IP address assigned to the terminal device to the binding server (200). register. In the binding server (200), information for specifying an actual user of the terminal device is also registered.

Before communication is started between the ATM terminal devices (105), the ATM-terminal receiving the connection request from the terminal device first receives the connection request.
The SW (100) makes an inquiry to the access control server (800) by designating the incoming / outgoing ATM address. The access control server (800)
A binding server (200) to know which terminal device is currently using the specified ATM address or who is currently using the terminal device
Make an inquiry to. Then, based on the attributes set for the terminal device or the user obtained by the inquiry, it is determined whether communication is possible or not, and the ATM-SW (100) is notified.

Next, a specific configuration and operation of each terminal device will be described.

<Binding Server> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the binding server (200). The binding server (200) has a CPU (202) and a ROM (20
4) In addition to the general computer system configuration such as the RAM (203), it has an ATM interface circuit (201).

The RAM (203) includes an information holding table section (300) for storing data representing addresses, names, users and the like of terminal devices included in the network system, and a data for the information holding table section (300). Update processing program part (600) in which a program for registering and updating
It has a response processing program unit (700) in which a program for searching and transmitting data of the information holding table unit (300) in response to an inquiry from another terminal device is stored. The CPU (202) appropriately selects and executes each program of the update processing program section (600) and the response processing program section (700) in response to access from another terminal device.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the information holding table unit (300). The information holding table section (300) has a terminal information holding section (310) and a network address information holding section (320).
And a user information holding part (330).

The terminal information holding portion (310) includes a MAC address assigned to the network interface of the terminal device, data of the terminal device name, and other information holding portions (3).
20, 330) and a pointer (terminal information (314)) pointing to the corresponding storage area. This terminal information (314)
Is registered for all terminal devices connected to the network system. The MAC address and terminal device name data, network address information holding part (32
The pointer to (0) and the pointer to the user information holding part (330) are stored in the terminal identification information part (311), the pointer part (312), and the pointer part (313), respectively. The terminal device name is represented by a character string composed of several tens of characters (the length does not need to be unified), and is unique to each terminal device.

Network address information holding part (320)
Assigned to each network interface
A set (address information (323)) of an ATM address, a network layer protocol address, and a pointer to a corresponding storage area of the terminal information holding part (310) is stored. For network interfaces belonging to a plurality of virtual LANs, a plurality of pieces of address information (323) are continuously registered. In addition, the network address information holding part (3
20) also stores an end display (324) indicating the division of the address information (323) for each network interface. The ATM address, the network layer protocol address, and the pointer are respectively in the address data section (3
21) is stored in the pointer section (322). In the address data section (321), a storage location is prepared for each address type, and a null value is set in an unused address type portion.

In the user information holding part (330), a set (use) of user name data of a user using each network interface and a pointer to a corresponding storage area of the terminal information holding part (310). Information (333)) is stored. For the network interface used by a plurality of users, a plurality of pieces of user information (333) are continuously registered. The user information holding part (330) also stores an end display (334) indicating the classification of the user information (333) for each network interface. The data of the user name and the pointer are stored in the user data section (3
31) is stored in the pointer section (322). The user name is
It is represented by a character string consisting of several tens of characters (the length does not need to be unified), and is unique for each user.

Next, the operation of the terminal device of this network system and the device relating to the registration / update of the user will be described.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are sequence diagrams showing communication performed in the present network system when the ATM terminal device (105) is activated.

In FIG. 4, when the ATM terminal device (105-1) is connected to the network and turned on (or the network interface is reset), the ATM terminal device (105-1) becomes
05-1) MAC address by the ILMI protocol (401)
-Notify SW (100). The ATM-SW (100) generates an ATM address based on the notified MAC address and
Respond to 1). The details of the ILMI protocol are published by The ATM Forum and published by Prentice Hall, Inc. “ATM User-Network Interface (UNI) Specifica
Option Version 3.1 ”, ISBN No .: 0-13-393828-X.

Then, the ATM terminal device (105-1) sets the LECS (10
2), the processing of the LECS connection phase (402) and the configuration phase (403), which are part of the LANE protocol, is performed, and together with the LES (103), the participation phase (404), which is part of the LANE protocol. Is performed. After this processing, the ATM terminal device (105-1), together with the BUS (103),
Before starting the processing of the BUS connection phase (405) which is a part of the NE protocol, the LES (103)
Specifying the MAC address and ATM address of 1) and requesting the binding server (200) to register the ATM address (406)
I do.

Note that after the participation phase (404), A
TM terminal device (105-1) registers additional MAC address and ATM address in LES (103) by registration / deletion processing that is part of LANE protocol, or deletes additional registration When doing so, the LES (103) immediately notifies (406) it to the binding server (200).

In FIG. 5, the ATM terminal device (105-1) follows the process of FIG. 4 and the DHCP server (101) by the DHC protocol (501).
Receives an IP address assignment from. At this time, the DHCP server (1
01) and the ATM terminal device (105-1) between VC (Virtual Channel)
In order to establish a connection, processing of an address resolution protocol (502) and a VC setup protocol (504), which are part of the LANE protocol, is performed. At this time, DHCP
The server (101) allocates an IP address to the ATM terminal device (1
05-1) from receiving the DHCP_REQUEST message of the DHC protocol to immediately before passing the DHCP_ACK message of the DHC protocol to the ATM terminal device (105-1).
The MAC address and IP address of the M terminal device (105-1) are designated, and the binding server (200) is requested to register the IP address (503). Next, the ATM terminal device (105-1)
Establish a VC connection with the binding server (200) (504), specify the user name recognized by the Login program on the ATM terminal device (105-1), and register the registration to the binding server (200). Request (505).

With the above procedure, a request for registration of the address and the user name of each terminal device currently operating on the network is made to the binding server (200).

The details of the VC setup protocol are disclosed by The ATM Forum and published by Prentice Hall, Inc., “ATM User-Network Interface (UNI) Spe
cification Version 3.1 ”, ISBN No .: 0-13-393828-X
It is described in. For the DHC protocol, T
he “Dynamic” published by the ATM Forum and published by the IETF
Host Configuration Protocol ", RFC 1541, Oct. '93.

Next, a method of registering / updating data in the information holding table unit (300) in the binding server (200) will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a registration process of the binding server (200).

(Address Registration Processing) First, the address registration processing (6100) will be described. Upon receiving the address registration request, the binding server (200) searches the terminal identification information part (311) of the terminal information holding part (310) for a match with the specified MAC address (6110). And the searched M
Pointer part of terminal information (314) with AC address set
From the pointer of (312), the corresponding address information (323) stored in the network address information holding part (320) is specified. At this time, everything stored from the position indicated by the pointer to the position of the address information end display (324) is specified as the corresponding address information (323). Then, in the address data part (321) of the specified address information (323), null is set at the position of the corresponding address type.
The address data part (321) in which the value is set is searched for (612
0), an address is set there (6130). At this time, if there is no address data part (321) in which a null value is set at the position of the corresponding address type, address information (32
3) is added (6140). At this time, a null value is set except for the part where the corresponding address type is recorded, and the pointer part (3
In 22), the storage location of the terminal information (314) of the terminal device to be registered is set. If an address has not been assigned to the terminal device to be registered, there is only an address information end display (324) at the position specified by the pointer in the pointer section (312). In this case, as above,
Create and add new address information (323) (614
0).

(User Registration Process) Next, the user registration process (6200) will be described. Upon receiving the user registration request, the binding server (200) searches for a match with the specified MAC address in the terminal identification information section (311) of the terminal information holding portion (310) (6210), and searches the searched MAC. The user information holding part (33) corresponding to the terminal information (314) for which the address is set
Specify the storage area of (0). Then, the user information (333) is added to the specified area (6220).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a registration deletion process.

(Address Deletion Processing) First, the deletion processing (6300) of the registered address will be described. Upon receiving the address deletion request, the binding server (200) first searches the terminal identification information part (311) of the terminal information holding part (310) for a match with the specified MAC address (6310),
The address information (323) corresponding to the terminal information (314) set with the searched MAC address is specified. In the address data section (321) of the specified address information (323), the specified address is searched (6320), and nu is stored in the storage location of the searched address.
Set the ll value (6340). And the address data part
Check whether (321) is all null values (6350), all n
If it is a ull value, all data of the address information (323) is deleted (6360). Further, it is checked whether the specified address information (323) is lost and only the address information end display (324) remains (6370), and if only the address information end display (324) remains, the corresponding user is checked. All data of the information (333) is also deleted (6380).

It should be noted that the ATM address deletion request is sent to the LES / BUS
Among the VC connections between (103) and the ATM terminal device (105), Control Direct VCC specified by the LANE protocol,
Sent from the LES (103) when any one of ControlDistribute VCC, Multicast Send VCC, and Multicast Forward VCC is disconnected. Also, the IP address deletion request is issued when the IP address assigned by the DHCP server (101) to the ATM terminal device (105) expires or when the ATM terminal device (105) assigns the assigned IP address to the ATM terminal device (105). server
When it is returned to (101), it is sent from the DHCP server (101).

(User Deletion Process) Next, a user registration deletion process (6400) will be described. Upon receiving the request to delete the user registration, the binding server (200) first checks the terminal ID information part of the terminal information holding part (310) for the one that matches the MAC address of the terminal device used by the user to be deleted. Searched in (311) (6410), the user information (333) corresponding to the set terminal information (314) of the searched MAC address is identified, and the user data portion (333) of the identified user information (333) In (331), the user information (333) in which the user name matching the specified user name to be deleted is set is searched (642).
0). Then, the data of the searched user information (333) is deleted (6430). Note that the user registration deletion request is sent to the ATM terminal device (1) by the logout program of the ATM terminal device (105).
Sent from 05).

Next, the response processing of the binding server (200) performed in response to the inquiry request will be described.

(Address Reply Process) FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the address reply process.

First, the process (6500) of returning an address from a designated user name will be described. Upon receiving the address inquiry request, the binding server (200) searches for the specified user name in the user data section (331) (651).
0), it is determined whether or not there is user information (333) in which the user name is set (6520). If it does not exist, a response indicating that it is not used is returned to the request source (6570). If there is, the terminal information (314) corresponding to the user information (333) is read (6530), and in the address information (323) corresponding to the terminal information (314), the position of the specified address type is determined. (6540). Then, it is determined whether there is a value other than null before reaching the end display (6550), and if so, the value is returned (6560). If not, it responds that there is no user (6570).

Next, the process (6600) of returning an address from a designated device name will be described. Upon receiving the address inquiry request, the binding server (200) searches for the specified device name in the terminal identification information section (311) (6610), and determines whether there is terminal information (314) in which the device name is set. It is determined whether it is (6620). If it does not exist, it responds that it is not used (6660). If it exists, its terminal information (3
The address data part (3) of the address information (323) corresponding to (14)
21), search for the position of the specified address type (663
0). It is determined whether there is a non-null value before reaching the end display (6640), and if so, the value is returned (665).
0). If not, it responds that it is not used (6660).

(User Response Process) FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a process (6700) for replying a user name from a designated address. Upon receiving the user name inquiry request, the binding server (200) searches the specified address in the address data part (321) (6710), and determines whether there is address information (323) in which the address is set. Is determined (6720). If it does not exist, reply that it is not registered
(6780). If there is, the terminal information (314) corresponding to the address information (323) is read (6730), and the user information (333) corresponding to the terminal information (314) is read (6740). Then, it is determined whether or not there is data other than the end display (6750). If there is data, all the contents of the read user information (333) are returned (6760). If there is only an end display, the MAC address of the read terminal information (314) is replied (6770).

<Access Control Server> Next, the access control server (800) will be described.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the access control server (800). Access control server (80
0) also has an ATM interface circuit (201) in addition to the configuration of a general computer system such as a CPU (202), a ROM (204), and a RAM (803).

The RAM (803) includes an information holding table (900) for storing data on information on users of the network system and information on network devices (a type of terminal device) such as application servers and network printers. And a response processing program section (1100) in which a program for searching and replying to data in the information holding table section (900) in response to an external inquiry request is stored. The program of the response processing program section (1100)
It is executed by the CPU (202).

FIG. 11 shows the structure of the information holding table unit (900). The information holding table unit (900) stores a data set (914-1) indicating the number, name, and attribute information of the user of the network system, and the MAC address and attribute information of the network device connected to the network. A registered user / device information holding unit (910) in which a data set (914-2) shown is stored. At the end of the registered data, an end indication (932) is stored. Among the above data, the user number, name and MAC address are stored in the data section (930), and the attribute data of the user and the device are stored in the attribute data holding section (9).
Stored in 20). The information holding table unit (900) has "1" for user name data and "2" for MAC address data so that the type of data stored in the data unit (930) can be specified. In the case of the end display, a data type display section (911) in which "0" is stored is also included.

Each attribute data is composed of a bit string representing each of a plurality of types of attributes required for the operation of the present network system with one bit. If each bit has an attribute, it is “1”. “0” is set. In addition, when this attribute means a group, for example, it is an expression that means that it belongs to the group by having the attribute. For server devices such as LECS (102) and LES / BUS (103) that provide basic network service functions, set attribute data to have all attributes and provide services unconditionally. It may be.

Next, how the access control server (800) is involved in communication will be described.

FIG. 12 shows this network system.
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a process when two ATM terminal devices (105-1, 105-2) perform communication. In this figure, two units
The sequence after the ATM terminal devices (105-1, 105-2) have completed the initial registration operation (FIGS. 4 and 5) is shown.

First, in order to know the IP address of the ATM terminal device (105-2) of the communication partner, the ATM terminal device (105-1) on the calling side specifies the user name of the communication partner and specifies the binding server (105-1). Inquire (1002) the IP address to (200). Then, in order to know the MAC address of the called ATM terminal device (105-2),
An ARP request is transmitted by broadcast using the ARP protocol (1003).

The receiving-side ATM terminal device (105-2) that has received the ARP request uses the address resolution protocol (502), which is a part of the LANE protocol, to send the requesting ATM terminal device (105-2).
-1) Specify the MAC address in LES (103) to get the ATM address. The VC setup protocol (504) requests the ATM-SW (100) to establish a VC connection with the ATM terminal device (105-1) on the transmitting side. ATM-SW (10
(0) specifies the ATM address of the ATM terminal device (105-1, 105-2) to be connected, and inquires of the access control server (800) whether or not the VC connection can be established.

The access control server (8
00) specifies the ATM address and inquires the binding server (200) of the user name to know the current user of the terminal device to which each specified ATM address is assigned. Then, based on the attribute data (921-1,921-2) set for the user having the obtained user name, it is determined whether communication is possible or not, and the determination result is returned to the ATM-SW (100).

When the returned determination result indicates that communication is possible, the ATM-SW (100) transmits a VC between the ATM terminal devices (105-1, 105-2).
Establish a connection. After the establishment of the VC connection, the receiving-side ATM terminal device (105-2) sends the MAC address of the own device to the ATM terminal device (105-1) as a response to the ARP request. The ATM terminal (105-1) specifies the MAC address of the ATM terminal (105-2) sent to the LES (103) by the address resolution protocol (502) which is a part of the LANE protocol, and
Get M address. Then, VC for the obtained ATM address
Start communication using.

Next, the operation of the access control server (800) will be described in more detail.

As described above, the access control server (800) receiving the inquiry from the ATM-SW (100) designates each ATM address of the caller and the caller, and specifies the ATM address of the caller / receiver.
Inquire the user at 0). In response to this inquiry, the binding server (200) returns a user name if the device has a user, and returns a MAC address if the device does not have a user. The access control server (800) searches the returned data in the data section (930) of the information holding table section (FIG. 9), and finds the attribute data holding section (9) corresponding to the returned data.
20) Attribute data (921) is obtained. If the two pieces of attribute data (921-1, 921-2) obtained include attribute data of all bits “1”, the communication permission is notified to the ATM-SW (100). In other cases, an arithmetic AND operation is performed on the two pieces of attribute data, and if the result is not "0", a reply of "communication permitted" is given. Reply "Not allowed". Note that, for those to which a plurality of user names have been replied, a predetermined attribute value set for the shared device is used.

As described above, in the present network system, by using the binding server (200), each device can grasp the correspondence between the address of the terminal device and the current user of the terminal device. it can. Also,
The user can perform communication using an arbitrary terminal at an arbitrary position. Further, the communication between the terminal devices can be restricted by the binding server (200) and the access control server (800) based on the attribute information set for the current user of the terminal device.

[0061]

According to the present invention, various devices on the communication network can grasp the correspondence between the terminal device and its current user.

Further, various devices on the communication network can restrict communication between terminal devices based on the current user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a binding server.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a table in a binding server.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a series of communications relating to registration of an ATM address in a binding server.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a series of communications relating to registration of an IP address and a user name.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating registration processing of an update processing program unit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a deletion process of an update processing program unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a response process performed by the response processing program unit to the terminal device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a response process of the response processing program unit to the access control server.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an access control server.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a structure of a table in the access control server.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing a series of communications related to a determination as to whether or not communication between terminal devices is possible.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100: ATM switch 101: DHCP server 102: LECS 103: LES / BUS 104: Route server 105: ATM terminal device 106: IEEE802.3 LAN switch 107: IEEE 802.3 LAN terminal device 200 binding server 800 access control server 406 MAC / ATM address pair notification message 1001 access permission inquiry sequence

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Hayashi 810 Shimo-Imaizumi, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Office Systems Division of Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Mineo 5030 Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Software Development Division, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] An information management device connected to a communication network in which a plurality of terminal devices and a communication management device that manages communication between the terminal devices are connected, and an information management device for identifying each of the terminal devices. Storage means for holding terminal identification information, address information assigned to the terminal device, and user identification information for identifying a user of the terminal device in association with each other; In response to the sent registration request, the correspondence between the terminal identification information, the address information, and the user identification information held in the storage unit reflects the current usage state of the communication network, Means for updating the information held in the storage means, terminal identification information or address information or use sent from the terminal device or the communication management device Depending on the identification information, the information management apparatus characterized by having a means for returning information corresponding to the sent information held by the storage means to the terminal device or the communication management device. 2. The information management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores at least one of the terminal identification information, the address information, and the user identification information for each of the terminal devices. An information management device characterized by the following. 3. An information management device connected to a communication network in which the information management device according to claim 1, a plurality of terminal devices, and a communication management device for managing communication between the terminal devices are connected. Storage means for holding user identification information for identifying the user of the terminal device and attribute information set for the user in association with each other; and transmitting the communication sent from the communication management device. According to the terminal identification information of the calling and called terminal devices to be started,
Means for sending the two terminal identification information to the information management device according to claim 1, and obtaining user identification information of a user of the calling side and destination side terminal devices; and user identification information obtained by the means. Corresponding to the second
Means for determining whether or not the terminal devices that are to start the communication can connect with each other based on the attribute information held in the storage means, and returning the determination result to the communication management device. Information management device. 4. The information management device according to claim 3, wherein the storage unit associates terminal identification information for identifying the terminal device with attribute information set for the terminal device. An information management device characterized by holding. 5. An information management device connected to a communication network in which a plurality of terminal devices and a communication management device for managing communication between the terminal devices are connected. First storage means for holding terminal identification information, address information assigned to the terminal device, and user identification information for identifying a user of the terminal device in association with each other; In response to the registration request sent from the management device, the correspondence between the terminal identification information, the address information, and the user identification information held in the storage unit reflects the current usage state of the communication network. Means for updating the information held in the storage means, and terminal identification information or address information transmitted from the terminal device or the communication management device. Means for returning information held in the storage means to the terminal device or the communication management device in accordance with the transmitted information in accordance with the user identification information, and identifying a user of the terminal device Storage means for storing user identification information for association with attribute information set for the user in association with each other, and a caller and a receiver for starting communication transmitted from the communication management device. According to the terminal identification information of the terminal device on the side,
Means for obtaining the user identification information held in the first storage means in correspondence with the two terminal identification information; and the second means in correspondence with the user identification information obtained by the means.
Means for determining whether or not mutual connection of the terminal devices which are to start the communication is possible based on the attribute information held in the storage means, and returning the determination result to the communication management apparatus which has transmitted the terminal identification information An information management device comprising: 6. A plurality of terminal devices, a communication management device that manages communication between the terminal devices, an information management device according to claim 5, the terminal device, a communication management device, and an information management device. And a communication network for connecting the communication network. 7. The communication network system according to claim 6, further comprising an ATM switch device connected to said communication network, wherein said terminal device, communication management device, and information management device are each said ATM switch. A communication network system comprising means for performing pseudo LAN communication via a device.