JP6323866B2 - Repeater communication system and repeater communication apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a repeater communication system, a centralized management device, a repeater communication device, an abnormality detection method, and an abnormality detection program. In particular, the present invention can be constructed at a low cost, and when a problem occurs, it can be detected early and recovered quickly. The present invention relates to a repeater communication system.

  When building a network consisting of communication devices and management devices that collect information about them in communication-related facilities, a LAN (Local Area Network) using TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) Can also be realized. However, when constructing such an environment in an old facility or constructing such an environment in a vast facility, the construction cost increases unnecessarily, and a great deal of cost is wasted. Become.

  In addition, when the communication device to be managed is a device with limited functions such as a fire alarm device or a crime alarm device, the content of the information to be communicated is relatively simple, and the amount and frequency are too much. Most are not things, and there is almost no possibility that the communication will expand in the future. In such a case, even if a LAN based on TCP / IP is constructed, it is clearly overspec, and unnecessary costs are wasted.

  Furthermore, most of the fire alarm devices and crime alarm devices installed in apartment buildings and multi-tenant buildings only sound when a phenomenon to be detected is detected. In many cases, a device for centrally managing information (for example, taking measures such as reporting to a fire department or the police) is not provided due to the cost required for installation and management.

  Therefore, even if a fire or crime is detected and the device rings, it is necessary for a person who has noticed the sound to take measures such as reporting to the fire department or the police. If there is no person who can handle the situation, it will be delayed and the damage will increase. In addition, since these devices are often not managed by a management device, even if there is a failure due to aging or the like, it may be left without maintenance and may not perform its function when necessary.

  In view of the above, the inventors have invented a communication system that can sufficiently operate with existing low-cost electronic devices and communication lines (for example, telephone lines, etc.). As disclosed.

  In the communication system described in Patent Literature 1, each electronic device has a function of calling a management-side device called a centralized management unit. Also, when an alarm at the time of abnormality is sent to the centralized management device as calling data, the port numbers of other electronic devices relayed in the middle are stored in the form of cumulative accumulation, and when the centralized management device is reached The accumulated column of these port numbers is managed as the address of the corresponding electronic device.

  The communication system described in Patent Document 2 is configured by a repeater communication device composed of electronic devices that can communicate with another route different from a route that is normally used, and a centralized management terminal that manages them. The centralized management terminal sets the address of each repeater communication device by a port number column in the route to them. When a failure occurs, an address is changed by rotating the main port in one of these repeater communication devices according to a command from the central management terminal. This is intended to continue communication even after a failure occurs.

  Moreover, there is also Patent Document 3 as a technical document related to this. Patent Document 3 describes a communication system that allows a so-called home network to create a correspondence table between physical positions of load devices and addresses without human intervention. In this system, the physical position of each load device is associated with the physical port of the load control signal relay device, and the physical position and address of the load device are associated with each other by the test signal transmitted from each load device. ing.

JP 2002-026920 A JP 2008-278424 A JP 2003-348090 A

  The communication system described in Patent Document 1 is a low-cost communication system that performs centralized management and control of small-capacity data. Regarding a countermeasure when a failure occurs in a communication device or a data communication path constituting the system. Is not mentioned. In addition, in the bit configuration of the communication frame used there, it is determined whether the frame is in the aggregation direction from each device toward the central management device, or conversely, the frame is in the routing direction from the central management device toward each device. There is also a problem that it cannot be judged.

  In the communication system described in Patent Document 2, this point is improved so that it is possible to cope with a failure. However, it is possible only to cope with a failure in the repeater communication device itself, and not to cope with problems such as disconnection of the communication line. Further, in this system, when a failure occurs in a specific repeater communication device, a detour path is constructed so as to avoid using the repeater communication device. However, the repeater communicator that has a plurality of routes leading to the operation may appear depending on the operation, so that the management and control of the route becomes complicated.

  Furthermore, in this system, one bit indicating whether the direction is the aggregation direction or the routing direction is added to the bit configuration of the communication frame, and each device determines which direction the frame is based on the value of this bit. I can do it. However, some control frames include useless bit strings for adjusting the data format, so that complicated processing is required to extract necessary information from the communication frame in the processing on the receiving side. This is also a problem for the purpose of providing a low-cost communication system.

  In the communication systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is necessary to connect each repeater communicator so that the central control device side always has the port number “11”, and in particular, connect a large number of repeater communicators. In some cases, this connection work becomes complicated, and connection errors are likely to occur. That is, a great amount of labor and cost are required for system construction.

  Incidentally, since the communication system described in Patent Document 3 is based on TCP / IP, it is not suitable in the first place when trying to construct a low-cost communication system that performs centralized management and control of small-capacity data. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a repeater communication system, a centralized management apparatus, and a repeater communication that can detect a failure in an information transmission path at an early stage and quickly recover it, and can be constructed at low cost. To provide an apparatus, an abnormality detection method, and an abnormality detection program.

In order to achieve the above object, a repeater communication system according to the present invention comprises a repeater configured by connecting a plurality of repeater communication devices and a centralized management device that transmits and receives information to and from each repeater communication device. A communication system in which each repeater communication device is a physical connection terminal between other devices and has a plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, and a physical port number is assigned to the transmission / reception physical port. And a port conversion control unit that associates different logical port numbers corresponding one-to-one with each other and communicates with other devices using the logical port numbers. In addition, when the centralized management device has an address management unit that sends out a control frame for inquiring addresses to all repeater communication devices, and each repeater communication device receives a control frame via a transmission / reception physical port In addition, the port conversion control unit is instructed to associate the logical port number indicating the central management device side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame, and the logical port number to other devices is added to the control frame. A transfer processing control unit for transferring the data to another repeater communication device, and the transfer processing control unit sends address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of the other repeater communication devices through which the control frame has passed to the centralized management device. It has a function of returning.

In order to achieve the above object, a repeater communication apparatus according to the present invention is a repeater communication apparatus that is connected to a centralized management apparatus and another apparatus to transmit / receive information, and is physically connected to the other apparatus. A plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, and each transmission / reception physical port is associated with a different one-to-one logical port number between the physical port numbers, And a port conversion control unit that performs communication with the apparatus. And when a control frame is received via the transmission / reception physical port, the port conversion control unit is instructed to associate the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame with a logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side, It includes a transfer processing control unit that adds a logical port number to another device to the control frame and then transfers it to another repeater communication device, and the transfer processing control unit is connected to each repeater communication device through which the control frame passes. It has a function of returning address information obtained by concatenating logical port numbers to a centralized management apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a centralized management apparatus according to the present invention is a centralized management apparatus that is connected to a plurality of repeater communication apparatuses and transmits / receives information, and makes an address inquiry to all the repeater communication apparatuses. The control frame is sent and the address information returned from each repeater communication device is stored as an address table, and the control frame is periodically sent and the response to this is compared with the recorded contents of the address table. An address management unit that detects whether or not a failure has occurred in each repeater communication device, and an abnormal state in which a failure is recorded in the abnormality detection log and an alarm is issued if a failure occurs in each repeater communication device And a corresponding portion.

  In order to achieve the above object, an abnormality detection method according to the present invention includes a plurality of repeaters each having a plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, which are physical connection terminals with other devices. An error detection method for a repeater communication system configured by connecting a communication device and a centralized management device that transmits and receives information between each repeater communication device, and the address management unit of the centralized management device is all When a transfer processing control unit of each repeater communication device that has received the control frame receives a control frame via a transmission / reception physical port, the control frame that sends an address inquiry to the repeater communication device is transmitted. The port conversion control of the central management apparatus is made to correspond to the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side to the transmission / reception physical port that received the control frame. Next, the transfer processing control unit of the repeater communication device adds the logical port number to the other device to the control frame and transfers it to the other repeater communication device. The address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of the other repeater communication devices is returned to the centralized management device, and the address management unit of the centralized management device stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table. It is characterized by this.

  In order to achieve the above object, an abnormality detection program according to the present invention includes a repeater configured by connecting a plurality of repeater communication devices and a centralized management device that transmits and receives information to and from each repeater communication device. In a communication system, a procedure for sending a control frame for inquiring addresses to all repeater communication devices to a processor provided in a centralized management device, and storing address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table And a procedure for periodically sending a control frame and comparing a reply to this with the recorded contents of the address table, thereby detecting whether or not a failure has occurred in each repeater communication device. It is characterized by.

  In the present invention, as described above, the repeater communication device is configured to associate the logical port number with the transmission / reception physical port, so that the connection can be made without being bound by the physical port number, and promptly when a failure occurs. Correspondence becomes possible. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a repeater communication system, a centralized management device, a repeater communication device, an abnormality detection method, and an abnormality detection program that can achieve the above-described object.

It is explanatory drawing shown about the basic composition of this invention. It is explanatory drawing shown about the basic concept of the repeater communication system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing shown more simply and planarly about the repeater communication system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing shown about the more detailed structure of the repeater communication apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing shown about the more detailed structure of the centralized management apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the frame transfer in the aggregation direction in the repeater communication system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the frame transfer in the routing direction in the repeater communication system shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the repeater communication apparatus shown in FIG. 4. It is explanatory drawing which shows a more detailed structure about the centralized management apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing shown about the operation | movement at the time of constructing the repeater communication system shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 for the first time. It is a flowchart shown about operation | movement of the repeater communication system of the state constructed | assembled for the first time shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the operation shown in FIG. 11 is performed and the correspondence of port numbers is completed in the repeater communication system shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of each device during operation of the repeater communication system shown in FIG. 10. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which a failure generate | occur | produced during operation | use of the repeater communication system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing shown about the example of a format of the communication frame exchanged between each apparatus by the repeater communication system shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing address information assigned to each repeater communication device as a result of the operation shown in FIG. 11 being performed in the repeater communication system shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating recorded contents of an address table stored by the address management unit of the central management apparatus in the operation illustrated in step S <b> 106 of FIG. 11. It is explanatory drawing shown about the structure of the repeater communication system which concerns on the expansion of this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing shown about the more detailed structure of the centralized management apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing shown about the state before and after enabling a backup path | route in the repeater communication system shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
(Basic contents)
First, the basic contents of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, a repeater communication system 100 is a centralized management that transmits and receives information between a plurality of repeater communication devices 20a, 20b, 20c,... (Collectively referred to as repeater communication devices 20) and each repeater communication device. The apparatus 10 is configured to be connected. Here, each repeater communication device 20 is a physical connection terminal between the centralized management device and other devices, and has a plurality of transmission / reception physical ports 21a to 21d each having a different physical port number, and a transmission / reception physical port. There is a port conversion control unit 31i that associates different logical port numbers that correspond one-to-one with the physical port numbers and communicates with other devices using the logical port numbers.
That is, the repeater communication system 100 is configured such that the repeater communication device 20 associates the logical port number with the transmission / reception physical port, so that the connection can be performed without being bound by the physical port number, and the information transmission path If a problem occurs in the system, this is detected at an early stage, so that the entire system can be constructed at low cost, and the operator (administrator) can quickly recover from this problem.
A more detailed configuration of each means will be described as the next embodiment.

(Specific contents)
In the present embodiment, as described above, the repeater communication system 100 is configured by connecting a plurality of repeater communication apparatuses 20 and a centralized management apparatus 10 that transmits and receives information to and from each repeater communication apparatus. Yes. Each repeater communication device 20 includes a plurality of transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31d that are physical connection terminals between the centralized management device and other devices and have different physical port numbers, and physical port numbers for the transmission / reception physical ports. The port conversion control unit 31i performs communication with other apparatuses using the logical port numbers corresponding to the different logical port numbers corresponding to each other.

  In addition, the centralized management apparatus 10 has an address management unit 13a that transmits a control frame for inquiring addresses to all repeater communication apparatuses. The repeater communication apparatus 20 receives a control frame via a transmission / reception physical port. In this case, the port conversion control unit is instructed to associate the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame, and the logical port to the other apparatus is set in the control frame. A transfer processing control unit 22 for transferring the number to the other repeater communication device after adding the number is provided, and the transfer processing control unit stores address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of other repeater communication devices through which the control frame has passed. It has a function of returning to the central management device.

  Further, the address management unit 13a of the centralized management device 20 stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device as the address table 14a, and periodically sends out a control frame and records a reply to this in the address table. Compared with the contents, it has a function of detecting whether or not a failure has occurred in each repeater communication device. The central management device 20 includes an abnormal state handling unit 13b that records a failure in the abnormality detection log 14b and issues an alarm when a failure occurs in each repeater communication device.

As a result, the repeater communication system 100 can be constructed at a low cost as described above, and when a problem occurs, it can be detected early and recovered quickly.
Hereinafter, this will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic configuration of the repeater communication system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. This repeater communication system 100 is a repeater communication device 20a, 20b, 20c ... (these are communication devices having a repeater function for detecting and relaying alarm information and device control information in a wired or wireless network. Since they all have a common configuration, they are collectively referred to as a repeater communication device 20) and a centralized management device 10 that transmits / receives information to / from these repeater communication devices 20.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the repeater communication system 100 is divided into partial networks 100a and 1b. Repeater communication devices 20a, 20b, and 20c belong to the partial network 100a, and repeater communication devices 20d and 20e belong to the partial network 100b. , 20f belong. The central management apparatus 10 is directly connected to the repeater communication apparatus 20a, and the repeater communication apparatuses 20a, 20b, and 20c are connected to each other in the partial network 100a.

  The repeater communication device 20b is connected to the repeater communication device 20d of the partial network 100b by the line 2a, and the repeater communication devices 20d, 20f, and 20f are connected to each other in the partial network 100b. With this configuration, the central management apparatus 10 communicates with all the repeater communication apparatuses 20a to 20f.

  Here, for example, when the centralized management device 10 sends some information to the repeater communication device 20f of the partial network 100b, the output packet sent by the centralized management device 10 is until the packet reaches the repeater communication device 20f. Route information indicating a communication route to be routed to is included.

  The route information here is managed by the centralized management device 10 and is configured by connecting a repeater communication device through which the communication packet should pass and an output port number in the communication device. Each repeater communication device determines to which port the received communication packet is to be output next according to this path information. Details will be described later.

  The communication packet sent from the centralized management device 10 to the repeater communication device 20f reaches the repeater communication device 20f via the repeater communication device 20a → the repeater communication device 20b → the line 2a → the repeater communication device 20d in this order. On the contrary, a communication packet transmitted to transmit information from the repeater communication device 20e belonging to the partial network 100b to the centralized management device 10 is in the order of the repeater communication device 20d → the line 2a → the repeater communication device 20b → the repeater communication device 20a. Via the centralized management apparatus 10.

  Here, let us consider a case where communication such as a disconnection occurs in the line 2a and communication becomes impossible. When this failure occurs, the partial networks 100a and 100b are divided, and the centralized management device 10 and the repeater communication devices 20d to 20f are in a state where they cannot communicate with each other. However, if another line 2b can be constructed between the repeater communication device 20c of the partial network 100a and the repeater communication device 20d of the partial network 100b, the centralized management device 10 and the repeater communication devices 20d to 20f are mutually reconnected. Communication is possible.

  An object of the present invention is to easily realize the reconstruction of such an information transmission path. The information transmission path can be similarly reconstructed not only when a failure such as disconnection occurs in the line 2a but also when the repeater communication device 20b or 20d fails and communication becomes impossible. The specific configuration and operation for that purpose will be described from the next stage.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the centralized management apparatus 10 and six repeater communication apparatuses 20a to 20f are shown. Furthermore, the repeater communication device 20a, which is one of them, is shown enlarged. FIG. 3 shows an example of the network configuration of the repeater communication system 100 in a simple and conceptual manner, and therefore does not match the configuration described in FIG.

  That is, the centralized management device 10 is connected to the repeater communication device 20a, and the repeater communication device 20a is connected to the repeater communication devices 20b and 20c. Further, repeater communication devices 20a and 20d, 20b and 20e, 20c and 20f are connected to each other, and an information transmission path exists. This connection may be wireless or wired and any protocol can be used.

  However, when viewed from the centralized management device 10, there is basically one type of route to each repeater communication device. That is, there are no loop paths such as repeater communication devices 20d to 20e, 20d to 20f, and the like.

  In each repeater communication device 20, there are two information transmission directions. A direction in which a control frame or the like issued from the central management device 10 is transmitted to each repeater communication device 20 is referred to as a routing direction, and is indicated by a dashed arrow or a white block arrow in FIG. Conversely, the direction in which a frame (a warning frame or a reply frame to the control frame) transmitted from each repeater communication device 20 is transmitted to the central management device 10 is referred to as an aggregation direction. In FIG. 3, a solid line arrow or a black block arrow is used. Show.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the repeater communication apparatus 20 shown in FIG. The repeater communication device 20 includes four sets of input / output ports 21a to 21d. The input / output port 21a has a port number “00”, the input / output port 21b has a port number “01”, the input / output port 21c has a port number “10”, and the input / output port 21d has a port number “11”. The repeater communication apparatus 20 also includes a transfer processing control unit 22 that controls data transfer processing by these input / output ports 21a to 21d, and a port conversion control unit 31i described later.

  The port number “11” represents the communication frame output in the “aggregation direction”. That is, if the communication frame input from the input / output ports 21a to 21c is in the “aggregation direction”, the transfer processing control unit 22 always outputs this to the input / output port 21d having the port number “11”. Conversely, the communication frame in the “routing direction” input from the input / output port 21d is transferred by the transfer processing control unit 22 to one of the input / output ports 21a to 21c according to the path information included in the communication frame, or Output for all of them.

  In other words, the input / output port 21d with the port number “11” serves as a main port for information on the aggregation direction toward the central management apparatus 10 and the routing direction from the central management apparatus 10 side.

  For the communication frame in the aggregation direction, the transfer processing control unit 22 assigns one of the port numbers “00”, “01”, and “10” that received the communication frame to the packet route information and updated the communication frame. , Transfer to the output side of the port number “11”. Conversely, for a communication frame in the routing direction, it is determined from the route information which port number “00” “01” “10” is output, and the port number is determined from the route information. Delete and output to the port.

  The repeater communication device 20 is naturally provided with means for detecting a phenomenon that is a detection target such as a fire or a crime. However, since this is publicly known, this is shown in FIG. Not shown. The same applies to the subsequent drawings.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the centralized management apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The centralized management apparatus 10 includes four sets of input / output ports 11a to 11d as with the repeater communication apparatus 20. The input / output port 11a has a port number “00”, the input / output port 11b has a port number “01”, the input / output port 11c has a port number “10”, and the input / output port 11d has a port number “11”.

  The centralized management device 10 also includes a transfer processing control unit 12 that controls data transfer processing by the same operation as the transfer processing control unit 22 of each repeater communication device 20, and in addition, a centralized management unit 13 and a management data storage unit 14. Is provided. The central management unit 13 includes an address management unit 13a and an abnormal state handling unit 13b. The management data storage unit 14 stores an address table 14a and an abnormality detection log 14b.

  The address management unit 13a periodically sends out a control frame for returning address information to each repeater communication device 20, and the address information returned from each repeater communication device 20 in response to this is sent to the address table 14a. And update information. Further, when the address information is not returned from all the repeater communication devices 20 recorded in the address table 14a, this state is detected and “abnormality occurrence” is notified to the abnormal state corresponding unit 13b.

  When there is a notification of “abnormality occurrence” from the address management unit 13a, the abnormal state handling unit 13b records and accumulates this information as an abnormality detection log 14b. It also has a function to issue an alarm and notify the administrator when an abnormality occurs. Upon receipt of the request, the administrator checks the abnormality detection log 14b via a management terminal or the like, and then sends a control frame on which a port conversion command to be described later is placed from the abnormality state handling unit 13b to each repeater communication device 20. (The details will be described later).

  The centralized management apparatus 10 is naturally provided with input / output means for presenting information such as the abnormality detection log 14b to the administrator and accepting operations from the administrator, but this is also known. This is not shown in FIG. The same applies to the subsequent drawings.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing frame transfer in the aggregation direction in the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. Here, consider a case where data is transferred from the repeater communication device 20g to the centralized management device 10. The communication frame transmitted from the port number “11” of the repeater communication device 20g is input from the port number “00” of the repeater communication device 20e, and is output from the port number “11” to the repeater communication device 20d. In each figure after FIG. 6, the input / output port with the port number “11” may be displayed in black for visibility.

  The repeater communication device 20d receives this with the port number “10” and outputs it from the port number “11” to the repeater communication device 20a. Then, the repeater communication device 20a receives this with the port number “01” and outputs it to the centralized management device 10 from the port number “11”.

  In such a path from the centralized management device 10 to a specific repeater communication device, the connected repeater communication devices are address information as viewed from the centralized management device 10, and this is managed by the address management unit 13a. Managed as an address table 14a. In this example, the address information of the repeater communication device 20g is “011000”, the address information of the repeater communication device 20e is “0110”, and the address information of the repeater communication device 20d is “01”. Incidentally, since the repeater communication apparatus 20a is directly connected to the centralized management apparatus 10, address information is not necessary, and therefore there is no address information of the repeater communication apparatus 20a.

  The central management device 10 collects the addresses of the repeater communication devices periodically by the address management unit 13a at a predetermined period such as “every hour”. It can also be performed according to the operation of the administrator. In response to this, the address management unit 13a updates the address table 14a. The operation at that time will be described later.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing frame transfer in the routing direction in the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. Here, consider a case where data is transferred from the centralized management apparatus 10 to the repeater communication apparatus 20g. In this case, the address “011000” of the repeater communication device 20g is recorded in the address table 14a by the operation shown in FIG.

  Based on this record, the address management unit 13a sends a communication frame to the address information “011000”. This communication frame is input from the port number “11” of the repeater communication device 20a. The repeater communication device 20a determines that the output port number is “01” from the first two bits “01” of this address information, and outputs the communication frame to this port number “01”. At that time, the address information included in the communication frame is output as “1000” updated by deleting the first two bits.

  The repeater communication device 20d receives this communication frame with the port number “11”, and similarly determines from the first two bits “10” of the address information that the output port number is “10”. The communication frame is output to “10”. At this time, the address information included in the communication frame is output as “00” updated by deleting the first two bits.

  The repeater communication device 20e receives this communication frame with the port number “11”, and similarly determines from the first two bits “00” of the address information that the output port number is “10”. The communication frame is output at “00”. At that time, the address information included in the communication frame is updated by deleting the first two bits, and is output with the address information “none”.

  The repeater communication device 20g that has received this receives the communication frame with the address information “none”, and therefore can determine that it is the destination of this communication frame and perform processing corresponding thereto.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the repeater communication apparatus 20 shown in FIG. The repeater communication apparatus 20 is roughly composed of three blocks, that is, a transmission / reception terminating unit 31, an aggregation direction processing unit 32, and a routing direction processing unit 33.

  The transmission / reception termination unit 31 includes transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31d, logical ports 31e to 31h, and a port conversion control unit 31i, which are any one of the input / output ports 21a to 21d. The transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31d are transmission / reception physical ports having port numbers “00”, “01”, “10”, and “11”, respectively. The logical ports 31e to 31h are logical ports having port numbers “00”, “01”, “10”, and “11”, respectively.

  The port conversion control unit 31i associates each of the transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31d with the logical ports 31e to 31h on a one-to-one basis. Normally, that is, when a failure or the like does not occur, the port numbers of the transmission / reception physical port and the logical port match. That is, the transmission / reception physical port 31a corresponds to the logical port 31e, the transmission / reception physical port 31b corresponds to the logical port 31f, the transmission / reception physical port 31c corresponds to the logical port 31g, and the transmission / reception physical port 31d corresponds to the logical port 31h. The transfer processing control unit 22 in FIG. 4 is an aggregation direction processing unit 32 and a routing direction processing unit 33. In FIG. 4, the logical ports 31e to 31h are not shown due to space limitations.

  The communication frame received from another repeater communication device in the aggregation direction, that is, the transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31c, is temporarily stored in the frame buffer 32a provided in the aggregation direction processing unit 32, usually via the logical ports 31e to 31g. Is done. Also, a communication frame received from another repeater communication device in the routing direction, that is, the transmission / reception physical port 31d, is usually temporarily stored in the frame buffer 33a provided in the routing direction processing unit 32 via the logical port 31h. .

  Here, when an abnormal state occurs, that is, when any one of the routes in the repeater communication system 100 is disconnected, or when any one of the repeater communication devices fails, the centralized management device 10 detects this and gives an alarm. And a control frame on which a port conversion command is placed is sent to each repeater communication device 20 by the operation of the administrator who has received this. The transfer processing control unit 22 of the repeater communication device 20 that has received this control frame controls the port conversion control unit 31i according to this command, and the correspondence between the transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31d and the logical ports 31e to 31h. To change.

  For example, the port conversion control unit 31i sets the transmission / reception physical port 31a having the port number “00” as the logical port 31g having the port number “10”, and the transmission / reception physical port 31c having the port number “10” instead as the port number “00”. It is also possible to correspond to each of the logical ports 31e. Further, the transmission / reception physical port 31b with the port number “11” can be made to correspond to the logical port 31h with the port number “11”, and the transmission / reception physical port 31d with the port number “11” can be made unused.

  That is, with this configuration, “the frame in the aggregation direction is input from any of the port numbers“ 00 ”,“ 01 ”, and“ 10 ”and is output from“ 11 ”” “the frame from the routing direction is the port number“ 11 ” ”And“ output to any or all of “00”, “01”, and “10” ”.

  However, when the correspondence relationship between the transmission / reception physical port and the logical port is changed, all the addresses of the repeater communication devices 20 are also changed at the same time, so that the address management unit 13a simultaneously performs FIGS. Address information for all the devices as shown in FIG. 6 is collected simultaneously, and the address information of each device is recorded in the address table 14a.

  Returning to the description of the operation in the normal state, the aggregation direction processing unit 32 includes a frame buffer 32a that temporarily stores communication frames in the aggregation direction (any of port numbers “00”, “01”, and “10”), and a frame buffer. An output selection switch 32b that selects an output from 32a, a frame termination unit 32c that interprets the content of the communication frame output from the frame buffer 32a, and a frame generation unit 32d that generates a new communication frame according to the interpreted content It consists of.

  At this time, the frame generation unit 32d simultaneously receives the transfer destination port number from the frame buffer 32a, updates the address information, generates a new communication frame, and generates a new communication frame with the logical number of the port number “11” of the transmission / reception termination unit 31. Output to the port 31h, that is, the transmission / reception physical port 31d associated with the port conversion control unit 31i (in the normal state), and via this, the communication frame is transmitted to another repeater communication device 20 or a centralized management device. 10 to send.

  Similarly to the aggregation direction processing unit 32, the routing direction processing unit 33 also temporarily stores the communication frame (port number “11”) in the routing direction and the contents of the communication frame output from the frame buffer 33 a. The frame termination unit 33b to be interpreted, the frame generation unit 33c that generates a new communication frame according to the interpreted content, and the generated communication frame with the port numbers “00”, “01”, and “10” (that is, logical ports) 31e to 31g) and an output selection switch 33d for selecting whether to output to all of them.

  At this time, the frame generation unit 33c and the output selection switch 33d update the address information of the transfer destination port number extracted by the frame termination unit 33b to generate a new communication frame and switch the output destination port. It is used for both. The new communication frame output to the logical ports 31e to 31g is output to the transmission / reception physical ports 31a to 31c (in the normal state) associated with them by the port conversion control unit 31i, and the communication is performed via this. The frame is transmitted to another repeater communication device 20.

  When the frame termination units 32c and 33b interpret that the received communication frame is a control frame, the frame termination units 32c and 33b control the operation of the port conversion control unit 31i according to the contents.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the centralized management apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The transfer processing control unit 12 has the same configuration as the repeater communication device 20 except that the central management unit 13 and the management data storage unit 14 are connected in addition to the transfer processing control unit 22 of the repeater communication device 20. Since the same operation is provided, the inside thereof is referred to by the same name and reference number as in FIG. 8, and detailed description is omitted.

  As for the centralized management unit 13 and the management data storage unit 14, as described with reference to FIG. 5, the centralized management unit 13 includes an address management unit 13a and an abnormal state handling unit 13b, and the management data storage unit 14 includes the address table 14a. And the abnormality detection log 14b are stored. The centralized management unit 13 may be configured as hardware as an electronic circuit, or may be configured as software as a processor that executes a computer program. The management data storage unit 14 can be configured by a general storage element. Details of the operation will be described later.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIGS. 2 to 3 is constructed for the first time. Here, an example is shown in which the centralized management apparatus 10 and 12 repeater communication apparatuses 20a to 20l are connected and initially set. The arrangement of each repeater communication device 20 and the connection between them need not be particularly concerned at the initial setting stage. Therefore, FIG. 10 shows an example of arrangement and connection different from those in FIGS.

  When making this connection, there is only one path from the centralized management apparatus 10 to each repeater communication apparatus 20, and it is only necessary to connect so that a loop path having a plurality of paths cannot be formed. You don't need to worry about port numbers as long as you meet that requirement. In the existing technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, it is necessary to connect so that the port number “11” is on the central management apparatus side, but this is not necessary in the present embodiment.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the repeater communication system 100 in the state of construction for the first time shown in FIG. When the connection is established and the centralized management device 10 and the repeater communication devices 20a to 20l are turned on, the address management unit 13a of the centralized management device 10 first sends a control frame for inquiring addresses to all the repeater communication devices 20. (FIG. 11: Step S101).

  The transfer processing control unit 22 of the repeater communication apparatus 20a that first receives this control frame first determines whether or not this control frame requires conversion between its own physical port and logical port ( FIG. 11: Step S102). Here, since the control frame is received via the physical port “11”, conversion between the physical port and the logical port is not particularly necessary, so all the other three ports “00” “01” “10” The same control frame is sent to (FIG. 11: step S103). Here, when transferring the control frame to another device, the logical port number communicated with each device is added to the address information and then transferred (details will be described later).

  In addition, the repeater communication device 20a returns its own address information to the centralized management device 10 (FIG. 11: Step S105), but here the repeater communication device 20a is directly connected to the centralized management device 10. The address information is blank. Alternatively, in this case, the step of returning the address information itself can be omitted.

  Next, the transfer processing control unit 22 of the repeater communication device 20b that has received the control frame also determines whether or not the control frame requires conversion between its own physical port and logical port (see FIG. 11: Step S102). Here, since the control frame is received via the physical port “10”, it is determined that the conversion between the physical port and the logical port is necessary, and the port conversion control unit 31 i of the transmission / reception termination unit 31 performs the physical conversion. The port “10” is set to the logical port “11” (FIG. 11: Step S104). The other three physical ports are also set as logical ports “00”, “01”, and “10” at the same time.

  Thereafter, the same control frame in which the logical port number communicated with each device is added to the address information is sent to all the other three ports “00”, “01”, and “10” (FIG. 11: step S103). Further, it returns its own address information as a response frame to the centralized management apparatus 10 (FIG. 11: Step S105). The address information here is a concatenation of port numbers through which the control frame has passed before the control frame arrives at itself.

  Thereafter, the processing of steps S102 to S105 is repeated in all the repeater communication devices 20. Finally, the address management unit 13a of the centralized management apparatus 10 stores the address information received from each repeater communication apparatus 20 as the address table 14a (FIG. 11: Step S106).

  This operation is performed when the repeater communication system 100 is constructed for the first time, and the logical ports set by the repeater communication devices 20 in step S104 are also reconfigured in the subsequent operation of the device (address information is reconstructed). Until) is valid continuously. For example, the physical port set as the logical port number “11” continues to behave as the port number “11” thereafter. The same applies to other port numbers.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the operation shown in FIG. 11 is performed and the correspondence of the port numbers is completed in the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. In the example shown here, three repeater communication devices 20b, 20e, and 20i (device group 41) and four repeater communication devices 20c, 20d, 20h, and 20l (device group 42) have physical ports and logical ports. Is a device that has been converted to and from.

  The address information returned by each repeater communication device 20 in step S105 of FIG. 11 is obtained by concatenating the port numbers through which each device passes until the communication packet arrives at the device, as described in FIGS. It is. For example, the address information of the repeater communication device 20l is “10000110”. The central management apparatus 10 can exchange communication packets with the repeater communication apparatus 20 using this information.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of each device during operation of the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. When a preset time interval elapses (FIG. 13: step S201), the address management unit 13a of the centralized management apparatus 10 transmits a control frame for inquiring the same address as in step S101 to all the repeater communication apparatuses 20. (FIG. 13: Step S202).

  In response to this, the transfer processing control unit 22 of each repeater communication device 20 sends the same control frame to other ports as in step S103 (FIG. 13: step S203), and as in step S105. It returns its own address information to the centralized management apparatus 10 (FIG. 13: step S204).

  In the centralized management device 10, the address management unit 13a compares the address information received from each repeater communication device 20 with the record in the address table 14a, and address information is returned from all the repeater communication devices 20 recorded there. It is determined whether or not there is (FIG. 13: step S205). If there is a reply from all the repeater communication devices 20, the operation ends there. If not, the abnormal state handling unit 13b records that fact in the abnormality detection log 14b and then issues an alarm to the administrator (FIG. 13: Step S206). )finish.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a failure has occurred during operation of the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. Here, since it was detected that there was no reply from the repeater communication device 20l, an alarm was issued to the administrator. However, at this stage, it is not specified whether the repeater communication device 20l itself has failed or whether a failure has occurred in the line between the repeater communication devices 20k and 20l.

  Therefore, the administrator connects the repeater communication devices 20h (port 00) and 20l (port 10) with a new line by using a free port, and the repeater communication system 100 described with reference to FIGS. Similar to the operation in the state of construction, the address information of all the repeater communication devices 20 is collected (the address table 14a is updated). If there is a reply from the repeater communication apparatus 20l, it can be determined that there is a line failure, and if there is no reply, it is determined that the repeater communication apparatus 20l itself has a failure.

  If there is a line failure, the repeater communication system 100 can be operated as it is with the updated address table 14a. If the repeater communication device 20l is faulty, the communication device may be replaced, and the address information may be collected again (update of the address table 14a), and then the operation of the repeater communication system 100 may be resumed. FIG. 14 shows an example in which the repeater communication device 20l itself has failed.

  FIG. 14 also shows an example in which a failure has occurred in the line between the repeater communication devices 20f and 20j. Also regarding this, since it was detected that there was no reply from the repeater communication devices 20i and 20j, an alarm was issued to the administrator. However, at this stage, it is not specified whether the repeater communication device itself has failed or whether a failure has occurred in the line of the repeater communication device.

  Therefore, the administrator connects the repeater communication apparatuses 20i (port 00) and 20e (port 10) with a new line by using a free port, and the repeater communication system 100 described with reference to FIGS. Similar to the operation in the state of construction, the address information of all the repeater communication devices 20 is collected (the address table 14a is updated). If there is a reply from the repeater communication devices 20i and 20j, it can be determined that there is a line failure, and if there is no reply, it is determined that the repeater communication device itself is defective.

  Here, since there was a line failure, there was a reply from the repeater communication device 20i first. At this time, the conversion between the physical port and the logical port described in step S104 of FIG. 11 is performed, and the physical port “00” of the repeater communication device 20i is converted into the logical port “11”. By this conversion, communication between the centralized management device 10 and the repeater communication device 20i is restored, and address information of the repeater communication device 20i is also collected and recorded in the address table 14a.

  Then, when the control frame shown in step S103 of FIG. 11 is transmitted from the repeater communication device 20i, the physical port “00” of the repeater communication device 20j is converted to the logical port “11”, and the repeater communication device 20j Address information is also collected and recorded in the address table 14a. This restores communication with all devices. All the address information of each device changed with the change of the connection relation of the line is also collected and recorded in the address table 14a.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a format example of communication frames 101 to 104 exchanged between devices in the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. The communication frame 101 is a control frame (address request frame) issued from the centralized management apparatus 10 to all the repeater communication apparatuses 20.

  This communication frame 101 is composed of 8 bits from the beginning and is composed of a frame beginning identifier 101a having a value of “0x7e” and 2 bits, and makes an address request to all repeaters by broadcast sent from the centralized management apparatus. A frame type identifier 101b having a value of “0x3” indicating a control frame, and 3 bits, “0x3” indicating that the number of installed ports per repeater constituting the network is 4 ports. Port number information 101c having a value (this field is 3 bits, so up to 8 ports can be supported), a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 101d, and 8 bits, the same “0x7e” as the frame head identifier 101a It consists of a frame end identifier 101e having a value.

  The communication frame 102 is an address response frame that is sent back to the centralized management device 10 from each repeater communication device 20 that has received the communication frame 101 (address request frame) from the top. Like the communication frame 101 (address request frame), this communication frame 102 is composed of a frame head identifier 102a having a value of “0x7e” and 2 bits, and a value of “0x1” indicating a response to the address request. A frame type identifier 102b having 3 bits and a number of ports having a value of “0x3” indicating that the number of mounted ports per repeater is 4 like the communication frame 101 (address request frame). First, it has information 102c.

  The port number information 102c is followed by repeater number information 102d indicating the number of repeater communication devices through which each communication frame has passed. Since the repeater number information 102d is composed of 10 bits in the present embodiment, a repeater communication system can be configured with a maximum of 1024 repeater communication devices 20.

  The repeater number information 102d is followed by address information 102e in which the port numbers of repeater communication apparatuses on the path through which the communication frame 102 has passed are connected. Since the number of digits of the port number assigned by one repeater communication device changes according to the value of the port number information 102c, the delimiter of the address information 102e also changes, and the number of digits of the address information 102e also changes according to the value of the repeater number information 102d. change.

  In the example shown in FIG. 15, since the number-of-ports information 102c = “0x3”, that is, 4 ports, 2 bits are a delimiter for the address information 102e. The repeater number information 102d = “0000000100”, that is, 4. Address information 102e = “10000110”, that is, a response from the fifth repeater communication device that has been traced as “10” → “00” → “01” → “10” as viewed from the central management device 10 side It is shown.

  The device identifier 102f following the address information 102e is a unique length identifier indicating a device number or the like unique to each repeater communication device, and this repeater communication device has in advance. This value is recorded and managed by the address management unit 13a of the centralized management apparatus 10 in the address table 14a. The device identifier 102f is followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 102g and a frame tail identifier 102h, similar to the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 101d and the frame tail identifier 101e of the communication frame 101. 102 is the terminal.

  The communication frame 103 is a control frame that the centralized management apparatus 10 issues to a specific repeater communication apparatus 20. The communication frame 103 starts from the beginning with the frame head identifier 101a of the communication frame 101, the frame type identifier 101b (the value is “0x2” indicating that the control frame is transferred in the routing direction), and the port number information 101c. 103a, frame type identifier 103b, and port number information 103c. The port number information 103c is followed by repeater number information 103d and address information 103e similar to the repeater number information 102d and address information 102e of the communication frame 102.

  This address information 103e is the address of the target repeater communication device 20, and this is included in the communication frame 102 (address response frame) returned by the repeater communication device 20 in response to the communication frame 101 (address request frame). The address information 102e that has been stored and also recorded in the address table 14a of the centralized management apparatus 10.

  The device identifier 103 f following the address information 103 e is the same as the device identifier 102 f of the communication frame 102. Further, a control command 103g, which is fixed-length data that represents a command issued from the centralized management apparatus 10 to the repeater communication apparatus 20 as the target, follows. The control command 103g includes a conversion control command for starting, changing, or ending the association between a specific physical port and a logical port in the above-described port conversion control unit 31i.

  Following the control command 103g is a request value 103h, which is fixed-length data representing a request value for the command. For example, if the control command 103g is a command prompting “port conversion”, the request value 103h is “a set value indicating which physical port number is to be associated with a specific physical port number”. This makes it possible to control the association between a specific physical port and a logical port.

  The request value 103h is followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 103i and a frame tail identifier 103j, similar to the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 101d and the frame tail identifier 101e of the communication frame 101, and the communication frame 103 is the end.

  The communication frame 104 is an information frame such as an alarm issued from the specific repeater communication device 20 to the central management device 10. The communication frame 104 starts from the beginning with a frame start identifier 102a of the communication frame 102, a frame type identifier 102b (value is “0x0” indicating information frame transfer in the aggregation direction), and the same start identifier as the port number information 101c. 104a, frame type identifier 104b, and port number information 104c. The port number information 104c is followed by repeater number information 104d and address information 104e similar to the repeater number information 102d and address information 102e of the communication frame 102.

  In the example shown in FIG. 15, the repeater number information 104d = “0000000100”, that is, 4, and the address information 104e = “100000001”, that is, “10” → “00” → “01” as viewed from the central management apparatus 10 side. It is shown that the notification is from the previous repeater communication apparatus traced from “10” to “10”. The device identifier 104f following the address information 104e is a unique length identifier indicating a device number or the like unique to each repeater communication device.

  The device identifier 104f is followed by notification content information 104g, which is fixed-length data indicating information such as an alarm notified by the repeater communication device to the centralized management device 10. This is followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 104h and a frame tail identifier 104i, similar to the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value 101d and the frame tail identifier 101e of the communication frame 101. It is the end.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing address information assigned to each repeater communication device 20 as a result of the operation shown in FIG. 11 being performed in the repeater communication system 100 shown in FIG. Communication frames 101 and 102 shown in FIG. 15 are used for the address information allocation operation.

  The address management unit 13a of the centralized management apparatus 10 transmits the communication frame 101 shown in FIG. 15 to all the repeater communication apparatuses 20a to 20l in step S101 of FIG. The repeater communication devices 20a to 20l that have received the communication frame 101 return the communication frame 102 shown in FIG. 15 to the centralized management device 10 in step S105 of FIG.

  FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the recorded contents of the address table 14a stored by the address management unit 13a of the central management apparatus 10 in the operation shown in step S106 of FIG. In the address table 14a, the device identifier 102f, the repeater number information 102d, and the address information 102e in the communication frame 102 received from each repeater communication device 20 are recorded together with the reception date and time 105.

  For example, in the communication frame 102 sent back from the repeater communication device 20l to the centralized management device 10, the repeater number information 102d = “0000000100”, the address information 102e = “100000001”, and the device identifier 102f are unique to the repeater communication device 20l. The identifier is recorded in the address table 14 a together with the reception date and time 105.

  Also, in the communication frame 102 returned from the repeater communication device 20i to the centralized management device 10, the repeater number information 102d = “0000000011”, the address information 102e = “010100”, and the device identifier 102f are unique to the repeater communication device 20l. The identifier is recorded in the address table 14 a together with the reception date and time 105.

  The address management unit 13a of the centralized management apparatus 10 uses the address table 14a to transmit and control the communication frame 103 (control frame issued to a specific repeater communication apparatus 20) to each repeater communication apparatus 20. It can be performed. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the communication frame 101 is periodically transmitted to all the repeater communication devices 20a to 20l, compared with the record in the address table 14a, and all the repeater communication devices 20 recorded there. It can be determined whether or not a communication frame 102 including address information has been returned (step S205 in FIG. 13).

  In step S206 of FIG. 13, the network administrator checks the abnormality detection log 14b in response to the alarm issued by the abnormal state handling unit 13b, and performs a response such as specifying a fault location and repair / replacement for the fault. Is possible.

(Overall operation and effect of the embodiment)
Next, an overall operation at the time of occurrence of abnormality according to the present embodiment will be described.
First, as described above, the repeater communication system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of repeaters each having a plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, which are physical connection terminals with other devices. The communication apparatus 20 is connected to a centralized management apparatus 10 that transmits and receives information between the repeater communication apparatuses. Then, the centralized management device 10 sends out a control frame for inquiring addresses to all the repeater communication devices (FIG. 11: step S101), and the transfer processing control unit 22 of the repeater communication device 20 that has received this control frame. Instructs the port conversion control unit 31i of the repeater communication apparatus to associate the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame (FIG. 11: Steps S102 and 104). . Next, the transfer processing control unit 22 of the repeater communication device adds the logical port number to the other device to the control frame and transfers it to the other repeater communication device 20 (FIG. 11: step S103) and the control. Address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of other repeater communication devices through which the frame has passed is returned to the centralized management device 10 (FIG. 11: step S105). The centralized management device 10 stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device 20 as the address table 14a (FIG. 11: Step S106).

  Then, the centralized management apparatus 10 periodically sends out a control frame and compares the response to the recorded contents of the address table (FIG. 13: Steps S201 to 204), thereby causing a problem in each repeater communication apparatus. It is detected whether or not (FIG. 13: Step S205).

Here, each of the above-described operation steps may be programmed to be executable by a computer, and may be executed by a processor included in the centralized management apparatus 10 that directly executes each of the steps. The program may be recorded on a non-temporary recording medium, such as a DVD, a CD, or a flash memory. In this case, the program is read from the recording medium by a computer and executed.
By this operation, this embodiment has the following effects.

  According to the present embodiment, first, at the stage of construction of the repeater communication system 100, the communication frame 102 returned from each repeater communication device 20 in response to the communication frame 101 issued from the centralized management device 10 is recorded as the address table 14a. By doing so, it is not necessary to individually set addresses for each repeater communication device 20.

  In the above-described existing technology, it is necessary to connect each repeater communication device 20 so that the port number “11” is always on the central management device 10 side. In particular, as the number of devices increases, the connection becomes complicated. However, according to the present embodiment, connection can be made without worrying about the port number, and a connection error cannot occur. Also, when a new repeater communication device 20 is added to the repeater communication system 100 or when the communication path is changed, the resetting is completed immediately by the same operation as that at the time of construction.

  Further, when a failure occurs in any one of the repeater communication systems 100 due to periodic exchange of the communication frames 101 and 102 between the centralized management device 10 and each repeater communication device 20, this can be easily detected. In addition, the administrator can immediately determine whether the failure is a failure that has occurred in each repeater communication device 20 or a failure that has occurred in the path between them, and can be performed quickly and accurately. It is possible to deal with this problem.

  By simply and clearly defining the data format of the communication frame, each communication device has a configuration that does not require advanced processing, so that the device necessary for constructing the repeater communication system 100 can be provided at low cost. It becomes possible to do. In addition, the cost for the construction and operation can be greatly reduced.

(Extension of this embodiment)
The present embodiment can be expanded in various ways within a range not changing the gist thereof. This extension will be described below.
In the present embodiment, when a problem occurs, the administrator manually performs an operation for identifying the cause, particularly reconnection using a new line.

  However, there is a case where a great deal of labor is required for reconnection, such as when reconnecting between repeater communication apparatuses across different floors or buildings, but not physically impossible. In addition, in the case of a repeater communication system configured by a large number of repeater communication devices, if a failure occurs in a specific device or path, all subsequent repeater communication devices become incapable of communication. Hereinafter, an example of extension of this embodiment that can solve this point will be described.

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the repeater communication system 201 according to the extension of the present embodiment. The repeater communication system 201 includes a centralized management device 210 that is partially expanded from the present embodiment and the same repeater communication device 20 as the present embodiment.

  In addition to this, a backup path 231 that connects some vacant input / output ports in the repeater communication device 20 is constructed in advance. A switch 232 is inserted in the middle of the spare path 231. Normally, the spare path 231 is not used, so that the switch 232 is turned off.

  FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the centralized management apparatus 210 shown in FIG. The centralized management apparatus 210 includes an address management unit 13a that is the same as that in the present embodiment, and an abnormal state handling unit 213b that is expanded in function from the present embodiment. In addition to the abnormal state handling unit 13b of the present embodiment, the abnormal state handling unit 213b has a function of issuing a command for opening and closing the switch 232 by an operation input from the administrator. Note that the switch 232 may be manually opened and closed by an administrator. In this case, the centralized management apparatus 10 can use the same centralized management apparatus 10 as in this embodiment.

  Returning to FIG. 18, when a failure occurs in the repeater communication device 20g, the subsequent repeater communication devices 20h, 20k, and 20l cannot communicate. When the address management unit 13a detects the occurrence of this problem, the administrator issues a command to turn on the switch 232 via the abnormal state handling unit 213b, and is built in advance between the repeater communication devices 20j and 20k. The spare route 231 that has been used is made valid. In addition, the address management unit 13a performs the same operation (described in FIG. 13) as the present embodiment.

  As a result, the repeater communication devices 20k and 20l can tentatively restore communication with the centralized management device 10, respectively. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing states before and after the backup path 231 is enabled in the repeater communication system 201 shown in FIG. In the repeater communication device 20k, the physical port “00” becomes the logical port “11” and the physical port “11” becomes “unused” when the backup path 231 becomes valid and the logical port is reassigned.

  However, the repeater communication devices 20g and 20h still cannot communicate. For these, permanent measures such as correction or replacement of the repeater communication device 20g as described in the present embodiment can be taken while provisional operation of the repeater communication devices 20k and 20l is performed. When this permanent countermeasure is completed and all the repeater communication devices 20 are restored, the switch 232 can be turned off again to perform resetting so that the network can be returned to the original state. Of course, the operation may be continued with the backup route 231 being maintained.

  In addition to this, for example, in this embodiment, a configuration for automating the cause identification of the trouble that the administrator has performed manually may be added, and a plurality of spare paths are provided, and which spare system is provided. You may make it select automatically whether to use.

  The present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and any known hitherto provided that the effects of the present invention are achieved. Even if it is a structure, it is employable.

  Regarding the embodiment described above, the main points of the new technical contents are summarized as follows. In addition, although part or all of the said embodiment is summarized as follows as a novel technique, this invention is not necessarily limited to this.

(Supplementary Note 1) A repeater communication system configured by connecting a plurality of repeater communication apparatuses and a centralized management apparatus that transmits and receives information between the repeater communication apparatuses.
Each of the repeater communication devices is
A plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, which are physical connection terminals with other devices;
A port conversion control unit that associates different logical port numbers corresponding to the physical port numbers on a one-to-one basis with the transmission / reception physical ports, and communicates with other devices using the logical port numbers; A repeater communication system.

(Appendix 2) The centralized management device is
An address management unit for sending out a control frame for inquiring addresses to all the repeater communication devices;
Each of the repeater communication devices is
When the control frame is received via the transmission / reception physical port, the port conversion control unit is configured to associate the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame. And a transfer processing control unit for transferring to another repeater communication device after adding the logical port number to the other device to the control frame,
The transfer processing control unit has a function of returning address information obtained by connecting the logical port numbers of other repeater communication devices through which the control frame has passed to the centralized management device. The repeater communication system described.

(Supplementary Note 3) The address management unit of the centralized management device stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table, and periodically sends out the control frame and sends a reply thereto. 3. The repeater communication system according to appendix 2, wherein the repeater communication system has a function of detecting whether or not a failure has occurred in each repeater communication device by comparing with the recorded contents of an address table.

(Additional remark 4) When the said centralized management apparatus has a malfunction in each said repeater communication apparatus, it has the abnormal condition corresponding | compatible part which records the said malfunction in an abnormality detection log, and issues a warning. 4. The repeater communication system according to 3.

(Additional remark 5) It has the backup path which mutually connects the said transmission-and-reception physical port which is vacant in the said repeater communication apparatus, and the switch normally inserted in the middle of the said backup path,
The repeater communication system according to appendix 4, wherein the abnormal state handling unit of the centralized management device has a function of issuing a command for opening and closing the switch in response to an operation input.

(Supplementary Note 6) A repeater communication device that is connected to a centralized management device and other devices to transmit and receive information,
A plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, which are physical connection terminals between the centralized management device and the other devices;
A port conversion control unit that associates each of the transmission / reception physical ports with different logical port numbers corresponding to the physical port numbers on a one-to-one basis, and communicates with other devices using the logical port numbers; A repeater communication device.

(Supplementary Note 7) When the control frame is received via the transmission / reception physical port, the port is set so that the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame is associated with the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side. In addition to instructing the conversion control unit, a transfer processing control unit for transferring the control frame to the other repeater communication device after adding the logical port number to the other device is provided.
The transfer processing control unit has a function of returning address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of other repeater communication devices through which the control frame has passed to the centralized management device. The repeater communication apparatus described.

(Supplementary Note 8) A centralized management device that is connected to a plurality of repeater communication devices and transmits / receives information,
Sends control frames for address inquiry to all the repeater communication devices, stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table, and periodically sends the control frames. An address management unit that compares the response to this with the recorded contents of the address table, thereby detecting whether or not a failure has occurred in each repeater communication device;
A centralized management device, comprising: an abnormal state handling unit that records a failure in an abnormality detection log and issues an alarm when a failure occurs in each of the repeater communication devices.

(Supplementary Note 9) Between a plurality of repeater communication devices each having a plurality of transmission / reception physical ports that are physical connection terminals with other devices and have different physical port numbers, and each of the repeater communication devices In a repeater communication system configured to be connected to a centralized management device that transmits and receives information at
The address management unit of the centralized management device sends out a control frame for inquiring addresses to all the repeater communication devices,
The transfer processing control unit of each repeater communication device that has received this control frame causes the repeater communication to associate the logical port number indicating the central management device side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame. Command the port conversion controller of the device,
Next, the transfer processing control unit of the repeater communication device adds the logical port number to the other device to the control frame and transfers it to another repeater communication device, and the control frame passes. Address information concatenating the logical port numbers of each other repeater communication device is returned to the centralized management device,
An abnormality detection method, wherein the address management unit of the centralized management device stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table.

(Additional remark 10) The said centralized management apparatus sends out the said control frame regularly, and the reply with respect to this is compared with the recording content of the said address table, and, thereby, the malfunction occurred in each said repeater communication apparatus. The abnormality detection method according to appendix 9, characterized by detecting the above.

(Supplementary Note 11) In a repeater communication system configured by connecting a plurality of repeater communication apparatuses and a centralized management apparatus that transmits and receives information between the repeater communication apparatuses,
In the processor provided in the centralized management device,
A procedure for sending a control frame for inquiring an address to all the repeater communication devices;
A procedure for storing the address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table;
And periodically sending out the control frame and comparing the response to the recorded contents of the address table, thereby executing a procedure for detecting whether or not a failure has occurred in each repeater communication device. An abnormality detection program characterized by the above.

  The present invention can be widely applied to an inexpensive communication system that performs centralized management and control of small-capacity data. More specifically, it is suitable for a notification system such as a fire alarm system or crime alarm system in a housing complex or a multi-purpose building, or a nurse call in a hospital.

100, 201 Repeater communication system 2a, 2b Line 100a, 100b Partial network 20 Repeater communication device 10, 210 Centralized management device 11a-11d, 21a-21d Input / output port 12, 22 Transfer processing control unit 13 Centralized management unit 13a Address management unit 13b, 213b Abnormal state handling unit 14 Management data storage unit 14a Address table 14b Abnormality detection log 31 Transmission / reception termination unit 31a-31d Transmission / reception physical port 31e-31h Logical port 31i Port conversion control unit 32 Aggregation direction processing unit 32a, 33a Frame buffer 32b , 33d Output selection switch 32c, 33b Frame termination unit 32d, 33c Frame generation unit 33 Routing direction processing unit 231 Backup route 232 switch

Claims (4)

A repeater communication system configured by connecting a plurality of repeater communication devices and a centralized management device that transmits and receives information between the repeater communication devices,
The repeater communication device is
A plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, which are physical connection terminals with other devices;
A port conversion control unit that associates different logical port numbers corresponding to the physical port numbers on a one-to-one basis with the transmission / reception physical ports, and communicates with other devices using the logical port numbers; And,
The central management device is
An address management unit for sending out a control frame for inquiring addresses to all the repeater communication devices;
Each of the repeater communication devices is
When the control frame is received via the transmission / reception physical port, the port conversion control unit is configured to associate the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame. And a transfer processing control unit for transferring to another repeater communication device after adding the logical port number to the other device to the control frame,
The transfer processing control unit has a function of returning address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of other repeater communication devices through which the control frame has passed to the centralized management device. . The address management unit of the centralized management device stores the address information returned from each repeater communication device as an address table, and periodically sends out the control frame and records a reply to the record in the address table. 2. The repeater communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the repeater communication system has a function of detecting whether or not a failure has occurred in each of the repeater communication devices by comparing with the content. The centralized management device, according to claim 2, characterized in, that it has the abnormal state corresponding unit for issuing an alarm with failure to record the defect abnormality detection log in the event of in each repeater communication device Repeater communication system. A repeater communication device that is connected to a centralized management device and other devices to transmit and receive information,
A plurality of transmission / reception physical ports each having a different physical port number, which are physical connection terminals with other devices;
A port conversion control unit that associates each of the transmission / reception physical ports with a different logical port number corresponding to the physical port number on a one-to-one basis, and communicates with other devices using the logical port number; and ,
When the control frame is received via the transmission / reception physical port, the port conversion control unit is configured to associate the logical port number indicating the central management apparatus side with the transmission / reception physical port that has received the control frame. And a transfer processing control unit for transferring to another repeater communication device after adding the logical port number to the other device to the control frame,
The transfer processing control unit has a function of returning address information obtained by concatenating the logical port numbers of other repeater communication devices through which the control frame has passed to the centralized management device. .

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