JP7836868B2 - Network connection device with fault handling function and fault handling method thereof - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a network connectivity device and a fault handling method thereof, designed to automatically handle failures in either failover mode or failover mode using a single latch switch.

Network connectivity devices that connect different networks are configured to allow traffic to move to other networks after it has been processed by security equipment. In such environments, to temporarily resolve situations where security equipment malfunctions or where a large volume of traffic exceeds its processing capacity and causes a failure, methods are known to handle the failure by switching to one of two modes: failover mode, which maintains connectivity by bypassing and spanning traffic to prevent network disruption, or failover mode, which prevents traffic movement to ensure High Availability (HA). Relevant literature is listed below.

However, conventional technologies that allow network connectivity devices to automatically switch to one of the aforementioned failover or failover modes for fault handling result in a somewhat complex structure for the network connectivity device. This ultimately accelerates the wear and tear of internal components and could potentially cause failures.

Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-0750371 Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-0959196

The disclosed embodiments aim to provide a network connection device with fault handling capabilities and a fault handling method thereof. Specifically, one objective is to enable the network connection device to automatically perform fault handling in either failover mode or failover mode using a single latch switch.

The technical problems that this embodiment aims to solve are not limited to those described above, and other technical problems can be inferred from the following embodiments.

One aspect of this disclosure provides a fault handling method for a network connection device, which includes the steps of: setting an inline mode and connecting the second terminal of a latch switch, whose first terminal is connected to a transmitting unit, to a security device connected to a receiving unit; and, upon confirmation of a fault, switching to one of two modes based on the fault handling setting: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiving unit, and a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the security device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the system switches to the failover mode, upon confirmation of the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit, the fault handling method may further include the steps of: distributing the first signal to the latch switch and the safety equipment through a distributor; preventing the second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the safety equipment, from being transmitted to the latch switch by the coupling switch; and transmitting the first signal through the latch switch and the transmitting unit.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, if the fault handling setting corresponds to the failover mode, the fault handling method may include determining whether or not to switch to the failover mode based on reference information regarding whether or not a command to maintain the inline mode by the security equipment is received within the previously set critical time.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, the reference information includes a reference value, the reference value asymptotically approaches an instruction value corresponding to the failover mode from an initial value over time, but is initialized to the initial value each time the maintain command for the inline mode is received, and when the critical time has elapsed and the reference value corresponds to the instruction value, the inline mode is converted to the failover mode.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, a fault handling method may be included in which, upon confirmation that the power supply has been interrupted, the inline mode is switched to the failover mode by using power supplied from an emergency power supply to perform the coupling switch.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, when the system switches to the fail-down mode, upon confirmation of the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit, the fault handling method may further include the steps of: distributing the first signal to the latch switch and the safety equipment through a distributor; preventing the transmission of both the first and second signals by preventing the first signal from being transmitted to the latch switch through the connection of the second terminal to the safety equipment, and preventing the transmission of the second signal, which is the result of the safety equipment processing the first signal, through the disconnection of the connection, to the latch switch.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, when the system switches to the fail-down mode, a fault handling method may be included in which the connection is disconnected by deactivating the transmission function of the transceiver located between the security equipment and the second terminal.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, when the inline mode is set, upon confirmation of the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit, the first signal is distributed to the latch switch and the safety equipment via a distributor. The first signal is then prevented from being transmitted to the latch switch by the connection of the second terminal to the safety equipment, and the second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the safety equipment, is transmitted through the latch switch and the transmitting unit. This fault handling method may also be included.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a fault handling method may be included in which the first terminal of the latch switch is connected to the transmitting unit, and the second terminal is controlled to be selectively connected to the security equipment connected to the receiving unit or to one of the receiving units, by selection of at least one of the inline mode, the failover mode, and the failover mode.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a network connection device with fault handling capabilities, comprising a latch switch whose first terminal is connected to a transmitter and whose second terminal is selectively connected to one of a receiver and a security device connected to the receiver; and a control circuit that connects the second terminal to the security device in inline mode, connects the second terminal to the receiver in failover mode, and disconnects the connection between the second terminal and the security device in failover mode.

In one embodiment of this disclosure, a network connection device may further include a distributor that distributes the signals input through the receiving unit to the latch switch and the security equipment.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, a network connection device may be included, further comprising an optical module for digitizing signals distributed to the security equipment and a MAC chip for inspecting the communication standards of the signals digitized by the optical module and then inputting them to the security equipment.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, a network connection device may be included between the second terminal and the security equipment, further comprising a transceiver whose transmission function is deactivated by the control circuit in the faildown mode.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of this disclosure, a network connection device may be included, further comprising an emergency power supply for the control circuit and the latch switch.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network connection device may include a configuration in which the first terminal of the latch switch is connected to the transmitting unit of the second port, the second terminal is connected to the receiving unit of the first port or the security equipment, the third terminal of the latch switch is connected to the transmitting unit of the first port, and the fourth terminal is connected to the receiving unit of the second port or the security equipment, and the control circuit connects the fourth terminal to the security equipment in the inline mode, connects the fourth terminal to the receiving unit of the second port in the failover mode, and disconnects the connection between the fourth terminal and the security equipment in the failover mode.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

By following the proposed embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be expected:

According to the embodiments of this specification, fault handling can be performed automatically in failover or failover mode using a single latch switch.

Furthermore, according to the embodiments of this specification, by using a single latch switch for fault handling, optical attenuation can be reduced compared to methods of fault handling that utilize complex structures in the prior art.

Furthermore, according to the embodiments of this specification, by using a single latch switch for fault handling, it is possible to reduce maintenance and upkeep compared to methods of fault handling through complex structures in the prior art, while also reducing failures due to wear and tear of internal components.

The effects of the invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and any other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

One embodiment shows a network connection device that handles faults. This is a flowchart illustrating a fault handling method according to one embodiment. One embodiment shows a network connection device set to inline mode. One embodiment shows a network connection device configured in failover mode. One embodiment demonstrates the coordinated operation between the security equipment and the internal configuration of the network connection device when set to inline mode. One embodiment illustrates the coordinated operation between the security equipment and the internal configuration of the network connection device when handling a failure in failover mode. One embodiment demonstrates the coordinated operation between the internal configurations of the security equipment and the network connection device when the power supply is interrupted while handling a fault in failover mode. One embodiment shows a network connection device configured in faildown mode. One embodiment shows an example in which network connection devices connected in both directions operate in inline mode. One embodiment shows an example in which network connection devices connected in both directions operate in failover mode. One embodiment shows an example in which network connection devices connected in both directions operate in faildown mode.

The terminology used in the embodiments has been selected to the greatest extent possible to be the most widely used and general terms, taking into account the function described herein. However, this may change depending on the intent of the articulators, case law, the emergence of new technologies, etc. In certain cases, the applicant may have arbitrarily selected some terms, in which case their meaning will be described in detail in the relevant sections of the description. Therefore, the terminology used in this disclosure must be defined not merely as a name, but based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of this disclosure.

When a specification states that a part of it "includes" a certain component, unless otherwise specified, this does not mean that it excludes other elements, but rather that it may include other elements.

The expression "at least one of a, b, and c" as used throughout the specification may encompass "a alone," "b alone," "c alone," "a and b," "a and c," "b and c," or "all of a, b, and c."

The term "terminal" as used below can be embodied in computers or portable terminals capable of connecting to servers or other terminals via a network. Here, "computer" includes, for example, laptops, desktops, and laptops equipped with a web browser. "Portable terminal" can include, for example, wireless communication devices that guarantee portability and mobility, such as communication infrastructure terminals like IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), and LTE (Long Term Evolution), as well as all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs.

The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below, with reference to the attached drawings, so that they can be easily implemented by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. However, this disclosure may be embodied in several different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a network connection device that handles faults according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 1, the network connection device 100 can operate in conjunction with the security equipment 200. However, the system illustrated in Figure 1 only shows the components related to this embodiment. Therefore, a person with ordinary skill in the art relating to this embodiment will understand that, in addition to the components shown in Figure 1, other general-purpose components may also be included.

The network connection device 100 may be a device that controls traffic at the connection point between one network and another, such as a Network Interface Card (NIC). For example, the network connection device 100 can receive traffic from one network through the receiving unit 130 and then transmit traffic to the other network through the transmitting unit 140. Figure 1 assumes a unidirectional traffic flow for ease of explanation, and the following explanation will also assume a unidirectional traffic flow; however, bidirectional traffic flows will also be explained with reference to Figures 7 to 9.

The network connection device 100, along with the receiving unit 130 and the transmitting unit 140, may include a control circuit 110 and a latch switch 120. Here, the control circuit 110 may be a programmable circuit such as an FPGA, but any circuit capable of communicating with the security equipment 200 and controlling other components within the network connection device 100, such as the latch switch 120, can be used. The various control processes of the network connection device 100 described below can be performed by the control circuit 110. The latch switch 120 may be an optical switch, with a first terminal connected to the transmitting unit 140 and a second terminal selectively connected to either the receiving unit 130 or the security equipment 200. As can be seen from the arrows in Figure 1, the latch switch can receive traffic directly from the receiving unit 130 or from the security equipment 200 and transmit it to the transmitting unit 140, depending on the connection of the second terminal, which can be changed.

The security equipment 200 may be a host computer on which a security program runs, and this equipment may be used to process traffic acquired through the receiving unit 130 in a secure manner.

We will now describe the additional components that are omitted in Figure 1. First, the network connection device 100 may include a distributor that splits the signal received by the receiving unit 130 and transmits it to the latch switch 120 and the security equipment 200. The network connection device 100 may also include an optical module that can digitize the optical signal received through the receiving unit 130 into an electrical signal for input to the security equipment 200. To achieve efficiency in terms of design, the optical module may be included in the network connection device 100 integrated with the transceiver. The network connection device 100 may also include a MAC chip that determines whether the traffic converted into an electrical signal by the optical module conforms to the network communication standard. Additionally, the network connection device 100 may further include a transceiver between the second terminal and the security equipment 200, whose transmission function is deactivated by the control circuit 110 in faildown mode, as will be described later. Furthermore, an emergency power supply for the control circuit 110 and latch switch 120 may be included to prepare for the event of a power interruption in failover mode; however, the emergency power supply may be implemented using a supercapacitor.

The hardware components of the unidirectional traffic side of the network connection device 100 have been described above with reference to Figure 1. A fault handling method according to one embodiment will now be described with reference to Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a fault handling method according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 2, in step S210, the network connection device 100 sets to inline mode and connects the second terminal of the latch switch 120, whose first terminal is connected to the transmitter, to the security equipment 200, which is connected to the receiver 130. In step S220, when a fault is detected, the network connection device 100 can switch to one of two modes based on the fault handling settings: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiver 130, or a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the security equipment 200. Each of these steps will be explained in detail below.

First, the inline mode is a general operating mode when there are no faults in the network connection device 100. In this mode, traffic is received through the receiving unit 130, processed through the security equipment 200, and then transmitted through the transmitting unit 140. Therefore, when the first signal is received by the receiving unit 130, the latch switch 120 does not receive the first signal directly from the receiving unit 130, but must receive the second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the security equipment 200. Consequently, for this reason, the second terminal of the network connection device 100 can be connected to the security equipment 200 instead of the receiving unit 130. To explain the operation of this inline mode, please refer to Figure 3.

Figure 3 shows a network connection device configured in inline mode according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 3, when inline mode is set, and reception of the first signal via the receiving unit 130 is confirmed, the first signal can be distributed to the latch switch 120 and the safety equipment 200 via a distributor (omitted in the drawing). At this time, since the second terminal is connected to the safety equipment 200, the first signal is controlled not to be transmitted to the latch switch 120 due to the connection of the second terminal to the safety equipment 200. The second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the safety equipment 200, can be transmitted by the network connection device 100 via the latch switch 120 and then through the transmitting unit 140. Under normal circumstances, the network connection device 100 can operate through this process.

Subsequently, if a failure is detected, the network connection device 100 can handle the failure by operating in failover mode or failover mode, depending on its settings. Such settings can be pre-entered by the user.

First, in failover mode, a connection switching operation may occur in which the second terminal is directly connected to the receiving unit 130 instead of the safety equipment 200. To explain the signal processing process in failover mode when the second terminal is directly connected to the receiving unit 130, please refer to Figure 4.

Figure 4 shows a network connection device configured in failover mode according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 4, when a fault is detected and the network connection device 100 switches to failover mode, upon confirmation of the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit 130, it can distribute the first signal to the latch switch 120 and the safety equipment 200 via the distributor. At this time, the second signal can be controlled so as not to be transmitted to the latch switch 120 by the aforementioned coupling switching. Instead, because the second terminal is directly connected to the receiving unit 130, the network connection device 100 can transmit the received first signal directly to the latch switch 120, and then transmit it through the latch switch 120 to the transmitting unit 140.

The coupling switching operation, which ensures the signal processing described above occurs during failover mode, can be performed automatically upon detection of a fault. The method for enabling this automatic coupling switching operation will be explained below.

According to one embodiment, the network connection device 100 determines whether or not to switch to failover mode based on reference information regarding whether or not an inline mode maintenance command from the security equipment 200 is received within a pre-set critical time. If it is determined that switching to failover mode is appropriate, it can perform the connection switching operation of the second terminal. Here, the inline mode maintenance command from the security equipment 200 may, for example, be continuously issued when the security equipment 200 is operating normally and traffic is not excessively congested.

Here, various methods can be used to determine whether or not an inline mode maintain command has been received within the critical time. One example is the use of a reference value. That is, the reference information includes a reference value, which can asymptotically approach an instruction value corresponding to failover mode from its initial value over time. In this case, the reference value can be initialized to its initial value each time an inline mode maintain command is received. Once the critical time has elapsed and the reference value corresponds to the instruction value, the inline mode is switched to failover mode, and the second terminal can be switched. As an example, the reference value can operate like a kind of timer value, for example, decreasing by 1 every second from an initial value of 15, until it reaches an instruction value of 0, at which point the system switches to failover mode. When an inline mode maintain command is received, the reference value can be continuously initialized to 15. To examine this process, refer to Figures 5a and 5b.

Figure 5a shows the interlocking relationship between the security equipment and the internal configuration of the network connection device when set to inline mode according to one embodiment.

As illustrated in Figure 5a, the security equipment 200 and the MAC chip 150 are connected using the PCIe standard, the MAC chip 150 and the control circuit 110 are connected using the I2C communication standard, and the control circuit 110 and the latch switch 120 are connected using the I2C communication standard with GPIO. This connection method is merely illustrative, and other methods can also be used. As shown in Figure 5a, the security equipment 200 or the MAC chip 150 can send an inline mode maintenance command to the control circuit. When an inline mode maintenance command is transmitted to the control circuit 110, the control circuit 110 initializes the reference value to its initial value and executes Decund Logic, allowing the reference value to asymptotically approach the instructed value over time. As long as inline mode maintenance commands are continuously received, the network connection device 100 can operate as shown in Figure 5a.

Figure 5b shows the coordinated operation between the security equipment and the internal configuration of the network connection device when handling a fault in failover mode according to one embodiment.

As illustrated in Figure 5b, if a failure occurs in at least a part of the security equipment 200 or the MAC chip 150, and the inline mode maintenance command is not received for a critical period of time or longer, the reference value will not be initialized to its initial value, and the reference value may correspond to, for example, become identical to, the instructed value. In this case, as shown in Figure 5b, the control circuit 110 can control the connection of the second terminal of the latch switch 120 to perform failover mode operation.

Here, when power is supplied normally, the system can switch from inline mode to failover mode through the process shown in Figures 5a and 5b. However, when power is not supplied normally, the reference value may not asymptotically approach the indicated value through the aforementioned process. For example, if power is not supplied to the control circuit 110, the process described above may be difficult to perform. In this case, an emergency power supply can be used to switch modes in the event of a failure. To examine such an embodiment, we will refer to Figure 5c.

Figure 5c illustrates the interlocking operation between the internal configurations of the security equipment and network connection device when the power supply is interrupted during a failover mode fault handling according to one embodiment.

As shown in Figure 5c, when the power supply is interrupted and a blackout occurs, the control circuit 110 becomes unable to execute the Decund Logic of the reference value described above. As a result, when the network connection device 100 confirms that the power supply to the control circuit 110 has been interrupted, it can switch from inline mode to failover mode by using power supplied from the emergency power supply 160 to perform a connection switch. Here, the emergency power supply 160 may be implemented through a supercapacitor, and this operating method may be similar to, but not limited to, the operating method for Power Loss Protection (PLP) in SSDs. Furthermore, the connection switch can be performed by the control circuit 110 immediately updating the reference value to match the indicated value using power obtained from the emergency power supply 160.

Having described the embodiment of handling faults through failover mode, we will now describe the embodiment of handling faults through failover mode. First, to explain the signal flow when a fault is handled in failover mode, we will refer to Figure 6.

Figure 6 shows a network connection device configured in failover mode according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 6, when the system switches to fail-down mode, the latch switch 120 does not perform a coupling change operation. Therefore, the second terminal of the latch switch 120 may still be connected to the security equipment 200, just as in the in-line mode, but the coupling disconnection operation may prevent signal transmission between the security equipment 200 and the second terminal. Consequently, when the system switches to fail-down mode, and the network connection device 100 confirms receipt of the first signal through the receiving unit 130, it can distribute the first signal to the latch switch 120 and the security equipment 200 via the distributor. At this time, the first signal may not be transmitted to the latch switch 120 because the second terminal is connected to the security equipment 200. On the other hand, the second signal, which is the result of the security equipment 200 processing the first signal, can be controlled so that it is not transmitted to the latch switch 120 by the aforementioned coupling disconnection operation. In short, the network connection device 100 can be controlled to not transmit either the first or second signal.

Here, such a disconnection operation can be performed by deactivating the transmission function of the transceiver located between the security device 200 and the second terminal. That is, even if the security device 200 generates a second signal despite the fault condition, since the fault has occurred, it may already be a delayed or incorrect signal. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary transmission, the second signal may not be transmitted to the latch switch 120. Of course, other methods besides deactivating the transceiver's transmission function can also be used to prevent the transmission of the second signal.

The above explanation assumes unidirectional traffic for ease of explanation. However, an example of a network connection device capable of handling the same fault handling method in both directions will be explained below with reference to Figures 7 through 9.

Figure 7 shows an example of a network connection device connected in both directions operating in inline mode according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 7, although it appears somewhat more complex than Figure 1, it can be confirmed that the structure described in Figure 1 exists in mirror symmetry with respect to the security equipment 200 and the MAC chip 150. The optical modules 171 and 172, which are combined with transceivers, can perform the function of digitizing the aforementioned signal in one direction from the receiver to the security equipment 200, and can perform the connection and disconnection operation between the latch switch and the security equipment in the failover mode described above in the direction from the security equipment 200 to the transmitter. In addition, the latch switch 120 can be connected in a 2-to-4 configuration, unlike when processing unidirectional traffic. For example, suppose the first terminal is connected to the transmitter 140 of the second port, and the second terminal is connected to the receiver 130 or security equipment 200 of the first port. In this case, there may be a third terminal that performs a similar role in the opposite direction to the first terminal and is connected to the transmitter of the first port, and a fourth terminal that performs a similar role in the opposite direction to the second terminal and is connected to the receiver or security equipment of the second port. In this configuration, the fourth terminal is connected to the security equipment 200 in inline mode, the fourth terminal is connected to the receiving unit of the second port in failover mode, and the fourth terminal is connected to the security equipment 200 in failover mode, but can be controlled so that no signal is received from the security equipment 200.

We will now explain the process by which such a network connection device 100 operates in inline mode in both directions.

First, when a signal is acquired by the receiving unit 130 of the first port, the signal can be transmitted by the distributor 181 to the upper end connection part 122-1 and the upper optical module 171 related to the second terminal of the latch switch. Here, the signal distributed to the upper end connection part 122-1 related to the second terminal is not transmitted because the second terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the lower end connection part 122-2. The signal input to the upper optical module 171 is digitized as described above, verified by the MAC chip 150, and then transmitted to the security equipment 200. After processing by the security equipment 200, the signal is transmitted again via the MAC chip 150 to the lower optical module 172, which then transmits it again to the lower end connection part 122-2 related to the second terminal of the latch switch 120. The network connection device 100 can then transmit the signal via the latch switch 120 through the transmitting unit 140 of the second port.

Regarding the operation in the opposite direction, when a signal is acquired by the receiving unit of the second port, the signal can be transmitted by the distributor 182 to the upper connecting unit 124-1 and the lower optical module 172 related to the fourth terminal of the latch switch. Here, although not shown in the drawing, the signal distributed to the upper connecting unit 124-1 related to the fourth terminal is not transmitted because the fourth terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the lower connecting unit 124-2. The signal input to the lower optical module 172 is digitized as described above, verified by the MAC chip 150, and then transmitted to the security equipment 200. The signal processed by the security equipment 200 is transmitted again to the upper optical module 171 via the MAC chip 150, and the upper optical module 171 transmits it again to the lower connecting unit 124-2 related to the fourth terminal of the latch switch 120, and the network connection device 100 can transmit the signal via the latch switch 120 through the transmitting unit of the first port.

Next, we will explain the process of handling failures in failover mode in both directions.

Figure 8 shows an example of a network connection device connected in both directions operating in failover mode according to one embodiment.

Referring to Figure 8, which is similar to Figure 7, it can be confirmed that the second terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the upper end connection part 122-1 through the connection switching. Although omitted in the drawing, the fourth terminal is also connected to the upper end connection part 124-1. This allows operation in failover mode, but to explain in more detail, first, when a signal is acquired by the receiving unit 130 of the first port, the signal can be transmitted by the distributor 181 to the upper end connection part 122-1 and the upper end optical module 171 relating to the second terminal of the latch switch. Here, since the second terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the upper end connection part 122-1 through the connection switching, the network connection device 100 can transmit the signal via the latch switch 120 through the transmitting unit 140 of the second port. The signal input to the upper optical module 171 is digitized as described above, verified by the MAC chip 150, and can then be transmitted to the safety equipment 200. After processing by the safety equipment 200, the signal is transmitted again via the MAC chip 150 to the lower optical module 172. The lower optical module 172 then transmits this signal again to the lower end connecting portion 122-2 related to the second terminal of the latch switch 120. However, since the second terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the upper end connecting portion 122-1, the signal is not transmitted.

Regarding the operation in the opposite direction, when a signal is acquired by the receiving unit of the second port, the signal can be transmitted by the distributor 182 to the upper end connector 124-1 and the lower end optical module 172 related to the fourth terminal of the latch switch. Here, although not shown in the drawing, the signal distributed to the upper end connector 124-1 related to the fourth terminal is connected to the upper end connector 124-1 via the connection switch, so the network connection device 100 can transmit the signal through the latch switch 120 and the transmitting unit of the first port. The signal input to the lower end optical module 172 is digitized as described above, verified by the MAC chip 150, and then transmitted to the security equipment 200. The signal processed by the safety equipment 200 is transmitted again via the MAC chip 150 to the upper optical module 171. The upper optical module 171 then transmits this signal again to the lower end connecting portion 124-2 related to the fourth terminal of the latch switch 120. However, since the fourth terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the upper end connecting portion 124-1, the signal is not transmitted.

Finally, we will explain the process of handling failures in faildown mode in both directions.

Figure 9 shows an example of a network connection device connected in both directions operating in faildown mode according to one embodiment.

First, when a signal is acquired by the receiving unit 130 of the first port, the signal can be transmitted by the distributor 181 to the upper end connector 122-1 and the upper optical module 171 related to the second terminal of the latch switch. However, the signal distributed to the upper end connector 122-1 related to the second terminal is not transmitted because the second terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the lower end connector 122-2. The signal input to the upper optical module 171 is digitized as described above, verified by the MAC chip 150, and then transmitted to the security equipment 200. After processing by the security equipment 200, the signal is transmitted again via the MAC chip 150 to the lower optical module 172. However, because the transmitting unit of the lower optical module 172 is deactivated due to the disconnection operation, the signal is not transmitted to the latch switch 120. Therefore, the network connection device 100 may not perform any transmission operations related to the input signal.

Regarding the operation in the opposite direction, when a signal is acquired by the receiving unit of the second port, the signal can be transmitted by the distributor 182 to the upper end connector 124-1 and the lower end optical module 172 related to the fourth terminal of the latch switch. Here, although not shown in the drawing, the signal distributed to the upper end connector 124-1 related to the fourth terminal is not transmitted because the fourth terminal of the latch switch 120 is connected to the lower end connector 124-2. The signal input to the lower end optical module 172 is digitized as described above, verified by the MAC chip 150, and then transmitted to the safety equipment 200. The signal processed by the safety equipment 200 is transmitted again to the upper end optical module 171 via the MAC chip 150, but although not shown in the drawing, the signal is not transmitted to the latch switch 120 because the transmitting unit of the upper end optical module 171 is deactivated by the disconnection operation. Therefore, the network connection device 100 may not perform any transmission operations related to the input signal.

The embodiments described above are merely examples, and other embodiments may be embodied within the scope of the claims described later.

Claims (13)

In a fault handling method for network connection devices,
Setting the inline mode, the second terminal of the latch switch, whose first terminal is connected to the transmitter, is connected to the safety equipment connected to the receiver.
When a fault is detected, the system switches to one of the following modes based on the fault handling settings: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiving unit, and a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment.
Includes,
When the system switches to the failover mode, and the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit is confirmed, the first signal is distributed to the latch switch and the safety equipment via the distributor.
The second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the safety equipment, is not transmitted to the latch switch by the coupling switch, and the first signal is transmitted through the latch switch and the transmitting unit.
A fault handling method characterized by further including the following: If the fault handling setting corresponds to the failover mode, the system determines whether or not to switch to the failover mode based on reference information regarding whether or not a command to maintain the inline mode is received by the safety equipment within the previously set critical time.
The fault handling method according to feature 1. The reference information includes a reference value, which asymptotically approaches an instruction value corresponding to the failover mode from an initial value over time, but is initialized to the initial value each time the maintain command for the inline mode is received, and when the critical time has elapsed and the reference value corresponds to the instruction value, the inline mode is switched to the failover mode.
The fault handling method according to feature 2 . In a fault handling method for network connection devices,
Setting the inline mode, the second terminal of the latch switch, whose first terminal is connected to the transmitter, is connected to the safety equipment connected to the receiver.
When a fault is detected, the system switches to one of the following modes based on the fault handling settings: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiving unit, and a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment.
Includes,
When it is confirmed that the power supply has been interrupted, the inline mode is switched to the failover mode by using the power supplied from the emergency power supply to perform the connection switching.
A fault handling method characterized by the following. In a fault handling method for network connection devices,
Setting the inline mode, the second terminal of the latch switch, whose first terminal is connected to the transmitter, is connected to the safety equipment connected to the receiver.
When a fault is detected, the system switches to one of the following modes based on the fault handling settings: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiving unit, and a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment.
Includes,
When the system switches to the aforementioned faildown mode, and the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit is confirmed, the first signal is distributed to the latch switch and the safety equipment via the distributor.
The first signal is prevented from being transmitted to the latch switch by the connection of the second terminal to the safety equipment, and the second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the safety equipment, is prevented from being transmitted to the latch switch by the disconnection of the connection, thereby controlling the transmission of neither the first nor the second signal.
A fault handling method characterized by further including the following: In a fault handling method for network connection devices,
Setting the inline mode, the second terminal of the latch switch, whose first terminal is connected to the transmitter, is connected to the safety equipment connected to the receiver.
When a fault is detected, the system switches to one of the following modes based on the fault handling settings: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiving unit, and a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment.
Includes,
When the system switches to the aforementioned faildown mode, the connection is disconnected by deactivating the transmission function of the transceiver located between the safety equipment and the second terminal.
A fault handling method characterized by the following. In a fault handling method for network connection devices,
Setting the inline mode, the second terminal of the latch switch, whose first terminal is connected to the transmitter, is connected to the safety equipment connected to the receiver.
When a fault is detected, the system switches to one of the following modes based on the fault handling settings: a failover mode related to switching the connection of the second terminal to the receiving unit, and a faildown mode related to disconnecting the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment.
Includes,
When the inline mode is set, and the reception of the first signal through the receiving unit is confirmed, the first signal is distributed to the latch switch and the safety equipment via the distributor,
The first signal is not transmitted to the latch switch by the connection of the second terminal to the safety equipment, and the second signal, which is the result of the first signal being processed by the safety equipment, is transmitted through the latch switch and the transmitting unit.
A fault handling method characterized by the following. The first terminal of the latch switch is connected to the transmitting unit, and the second terminal is controlled to be selectively connected to the security equipment connected to the receiving unit or to one of the receiving units, by selecting at least one of the inline mode, the failover mode, and the failover mode.
The fault handling method according to feature 1. A network connection device with fault handling capabilities,
A latch switch whose first terminal is connected to the transmitting unit and whose second terminal is selectively connected to one of the receiving unit and a safety device connected to the receiving unit,
A control circuit that connects the second terminal to the safety equipment in inline mode, connects the second terminal to the receiving unit in failover mode, and disconnects the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment in failover mode,
Includes,
The second terminal and the safety equipment further include a transceiver whose transmission function is deactivated by the control circuit in the faildown mode,
A network connection device characterized by the following features. The device further includes a distributor that distributes the signal input through the receiving unit to the latch switch and the safety equipment.
The network connection device according to feature 9 . A network connection device with fault handling capabilities,
A latch switch whose first terminal is connected to the transmitting unit and whose second terminal is selectively connected to one of the receiving unit and a safety device connected to the receiving unit,
A control circuit that connects the second terminal to the safety equipment in inline mode, connects the second terminal to the receiving unit in failover mode, and disconnects the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment in failover mode,
Includes,
The system further includes an optical module for digitizing signals distributed to the aforementioned safety equipment, and a MAC chip for inputting the signals digitized by the optical module into the safety equipment after inspecting the communication standards of those signals.
A network connection device characterized by the following features. The control circuit and the emergency power supply for the latch switch further include
The network connection device according to feature 9 . A network connection device with fault handling capabilities,
A latch switch whose first terminal is connected to the transmitting unit and whose second terminal is selectively connected to one of the receiving unit and a safety device connected to the receiving unit,
A control circuit that connects the second terminal to the safety equipment in inline mode, connects the second terminal to the receiving unit in failover mode, and disconnects the connection between the second terminal and the safety equipment in failover mode,
Includes,
The first terminal of the latch switch is connected to the transmitting unit of the second port, and the second terminal is connected to the receiving unit or the safety equipment of the first port.
The third terminal of the latch switch is connected to the transmitting unit of the first port, and the fourth terminal is connected to the receiving unit of the second port or the safety equipment.
The control circuit connects the fourth terminal to the security equipment in the inline mode, connects the fourth terminal to the receiving unit of the second port in the failover mode, and disconnects the connection between the fourth terminal and the security equipment in the failover mode.
A network connection device characterized by the following features.