JPH0787457B2 - Failure information transmission method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an information network system, and more specifically,
The present invention relates to a method of transmitting failure information between devices included in a network.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, the following has been proposed as a failure diagnosis method for information network systems (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-2163).
No. 44). That is, a device (node) that constitutes a network diagnoses whether a device such as a terminal connected to itself is alive or dead and holds the result, and a device (network monitoring node) that monitors the network is The constituent devices (nodes) make inquiries, and each constituent device (node) sends the diagnosis result to the network monitoring device in response to the inquiry.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the case of a layered computer network, in the above conventional method, the diagnostic system cannot be determined until the network configuration, that is, the connection of each device is determined. When the network configuration changes or the number of devices that make up the network increases or decreases, there is a problem that the failure diagnosis system for the entire network must be newly changed. This is because the failure diagnosis of the entire network can be performed only by a device specified in advance and given such a position, that is, a network monitoring device. That is,
Only after the configuration and connections of all networks are decided, the address of each device and the route to access that device are fixed, and the monitoring device can inquire whether the device has a failure or not, and the result can be displayed on a specific display device. It can be displayed.

[Means for Solving Problems] Means adopted by the present invention for solving the above problems are as follows.
As illustrated in the outline of the processing in FIG. 1, in a failure information transmission method of an information network configured by connecting a plurality of upper devices to which lower devices are connected, in the failure code of the connected lower devices and the above A failure state table of failure contents corresponding to the identification information of the lower device is stored in the upper device of the lower device, and when the failure of the lower device is inquired, the failure code of the lower device and the identification of the lower device Based on the information, the failure status is searched from the failure status table to create failure information and transmitted to the network (S2), and each time the failure information passes through the upper apparatus (S3), the upper apparatus The gist is a failure information transmission method characterized in that the identification information is added and transmitted (S4).

[Operation] When inquiring about the failure of the lower device, the lower device sends a failure code to the upper device (S1), and the upper device determines from the failure status table based on the lower device failure code and the lower device identification information. Failure information corresponding to this is searched to create failure information. Then, it is transmitted on the network (S2),
The device that has received this failure information (S3) adds its own identification information to the received failure information (S4) and sends it to another device (S5). In this way, each time the failure information passes through each device, the identification information of that device is added, and when this failure information reaches a display device connected to somewhere on the network, this failure information is The identification information of all the devices that have passed through is added. Therefore, the display device can identify the device that has transmitted the failure information from the column of the added identification information of the device, and can display the details of the failure, the state, and the like based on the failure information itself.

[Example] An example of a computer network system of an automobile production line using the failure information transmission method according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of this embodiment. This computer network system is mainly composed of two network loops 10 and 20. Devices 12, 14, 16 such as computers are connected to the loop I10, and similar devices 16, 22, 24 are connected to the loop II20. That is, the loop I10 and the loop II20 are connected via the device 16. In loop I10, device 14 is the main device, and in loop II20, device 16 is the main device.
Each of the devices 14 and 24 is connected with some lower devices such as terminals, and the device 12 is connected with a display device 18.

A block diagram of a device 24 is shown in FIG. 3 as an example of a device forming a network. The device 24 is a microcomputer device that controls and monitors three inspection devices 25, 26, 27 as a subordinate device. Its configuration consists of CPU30, RAM32, ROM34, backup RAM36, input / output port 38, reference clock circuit 40 and bus line 42 connecting them.
38 sends and receives information between the loop II 20 and the lower devices 25, 26, 27. The ROM 34 stores a program that defines procedures for controlling, monitoring, and diagnosing the lower devices 25, 26, 27. The other devices 12, 14, 16 and 22 can also have the same configuration as the above.

A procedure for the device 24 to perform a failure diagnosis of the lower devices 25, 26, 27 connected to itself will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The device 24 executes the failure diagnosis subroutine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 at predetermined time intervals. When this subroutine is activated, one sub device,
For example, the lower device 25 is inquired about the failure (step 100). In response to this, it is judged whether or not there is a response from the lower device 25 (step 110). If there is a response, it is judged whether or not the response information includes an error code (step 120). If the response information contains an error code, the device 24
From the failure status table (part of the failure status table is shown in Table 1) held by the device, the error status is determined by the device address of the lower device 25 that responded (also 25) and the error code in the response information. And search for error content (step 13)
0).

In step 110, when there is no response from the inquired lower-level device 25, the process is moved to step 130, and from the failure status table, the lower-level device 25 corresponds to the device address 25,
At the same time, a column having no error code is searched for, and the error status and error content of that column are read. In this case, since there is no error code from the lower device 25, the device 24 creates an error code.

The error state represents, for example, a fatal failure (D) or a warning failure (A), and the error content is, for example, “Kiki 1 Fuka” (device 1 not possible) or “Data None”. It expresses the details of the failure.

The error code, error status, and
The error contents and the address of the fault-causing device are summarized in the fifth
Create failure information as shown in Figure (A) (step 14
0). In FIG. 5 (A), 101 is an error code created by the failure detection device 24. Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the device address of the device 24 itself (also this
24. ) Is added (step 150) and transmitted to another device (step 160). Here, in addition to the error code, the error information and error content are included in the failure information because the failure status table can be set freely for each device 12, 14, 16, 22, 24 that composes the network. In addition, even when a device is newly added to the network, there is an advantage that it is only necessary to create a failure state table for that device. After transmitting the failure information, the process proceeds to step 170.

If there is a response from the lower device 25 in step 110 and it is determined in step 120 that there is no error code in the response information, it means that the lower device 25 is operating normally, so the process proceeds to step 170. Move.

In step 170, it is judged whether or not the inquiry to all the lower-level devices connected to the device 24 is completed, and if not yet, the same process is repeated from step 100 for the next lower-level device, and all the lower-level devices are processed. When the inquiry is completed, the processing of this subroutine is also completed.

The above is the case where the device 24 performs the failure diagnosis on the lower-level device connected to itself. Next, the procedure when the device 24 carries out the failure diagnosis on the basis of its own contents will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. Explain. In this case, unlike the case of the external device described above, when a failure in the device 24 occurs while the device 24 is performing other processing,
The internal interrupt activates the error processing unit, and the error processing unit activates this subroutine.

When this subroutine is started, first, in step 200, an error code is received from the error processing unit, and a column corresponding to the device address of 24, that is, an internal fault and the error code is received is searched from the failure state table ( Step 210). Thereafter, the same failure information as described above is created (step 220), the own device address 24 is similarly added (step 230), and then transmitted to another device (step 240).

The above is the procedure until the fault information is generated and transmitted by a certain device constituting the network. Next, how the fault information thus transmitted is transmitted through the network will be described.

Failure generator 25 and failure generator transmitted from device 24
Failure information with 24 addresses added (Fig. 5 (B))
Is sent to the device 16 which is the main device of the loop II20, and the device address of the device 16 is added there (FIG. 5 (C)). Device 16 then sends this fault information to main device 14 of loop I10. Similarly to the device 14, the device 14 further adds its own device address to the received failure information (FIG. 5 (D)). The device 14 displays this failure information on the display device 18
And sends the received failure information (FIG. 5 (D), etc.) to the display device 18 such as a CRT in response to a key input by the operator.

The network administrator can identify the device in which the failure has occurred and can also know the details of the failure from the failure information added with the transit device address displayed on the display device 18.

By adopting this method, for example, even when the display device 18 is connected to the device 22 of the loop II 20, the device 16 to the device 22 are connected.
It is possible to perform the failure diagnosis only by transmitting the failure information to the user without making any other changes. Further, even if, for example, a third loop III is connected to the above network via the device 14 and a device having the same device address 24 as that of the loop II20 is accidentally connected to the loop III, the method can be used. For example, by tracing back the device address of the transit device added to the failure information, it is possible to specify which device has the failure information.
Therefore, without changing the device address of Loop III,
Even in this case, the failure diagnosis system up to that point can be used as it is.

[Effect] By adopting the failure information transmission method according to the present invention,
The failure status display of the failure content corresponding to the failure code and the identification information is stored in the higher-level device of the lower-level device, and the failure information is created from the failure status table, so that the failure content can be immediately known and the failure has occurred. In this case, it is possible to prepare in advance a component, an inspection device, a measuring device, etc. according to the details of the failure, bring them to the failed device, and immediately start repair or the like. If the network configuration changes,
Even if a new device is added to the network, by storing the failure status of the connected lower device in the upper device, it is possible to know the failure content of the device, even if not a seasoned maintenance / inspector. The failure can be dealt with easily. Furthermore, even if the configuration of the information network system is indefinite, it becomes possible to determine the failure diagnosis system, and the network configuration changes,
Even if the number of devices forming the network is increased or decreased, it is not necessary to change the failure diagnosis system for the entire network. Therefore, the information network system can be made highly flexible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the outline of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer network system that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the devices that make up the network, and FIG. FIG. 5 (A) to (D) are explanatory views showing the transition of failure information, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing performed by the above-described device when a failure occurs in its own device. Is. 10 …… Loop I 12,14,16,22,24 …… Device 18 …… Display device 20 …… Loop II 25,26,27 …… Lower device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A failure information transmission method of an information network configured by connecting a plurality of upper devices to which lower devices are connected, wherein a failure code of the connected lower devices and identification information of the lower devices are supported. The failure status table of the failure content to be stored in the higher order apparatus of the lower order apparatus, and when the failure of the lower order apparatus is inquired, the failure status table based on the failure code of the lower order apparatus and the identification information of the lower order apparatus. A failure characterized by retrieving the failure content from the above to create failure information and transmitting the failure information to the network, and adding the identification information of the higher-level device every time the failure information passes through the higher-level device. Information transmission method.