Monitoring device, network monitoring system, ship, monitoring method, and monitoring program

Abstract

To provide a monitoring device, a network monitoring system, a ship, a monitoring method, and a monitoring program that use various devices to establish communication in the event of a failure.SOLUTION: A monitoring device includes a response request unit 51 that makes response requests to a plurality of devices connected to one network and acquires communication information, a recording unit 52 that records the communication information of each device acquired by the response request unit 51, a monitoring unit 53 that monitors the network fault status on the basis of the communication information of each device and network fault occurrence information from the recording unit 52, a notification unit 54 that, when the monitoring unit 53 detects that a fault has occurred in the network, notifies each device connected to the network, and an information providing unit 55 that, when the monitoring unit 53 detects that a fault has occurred in the network, selects a device to be proposed to move from among devices that can be moved on the basis of the location of the fault in the network and the position information of each device, and provides the device with information on the move position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a monitoring device, a network monitoring system, a ship, a monitoring method, and a monitoring program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art When a network undergoes a dynamic change or when a failure occurs in the network, the network is reconstructed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when a network changes dynamically or when a user instructs a change, a route is reconstructed and a session is maintained. Patent Document 2 discloses that a backup connection is established with an upstream device that serves as an alternative connection destination in the event of a failure, and when a failure occurs, the connection is switched to the alternative connection destination. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-274142 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2004-282346 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the invention of Patent Document 1 does not consider what to do when a failure occurs, and cannot reconstruct the route when there is no communication device in the vicinity or when a failure occurs in a communication device in the vicinity. Also, the invention of Patent Document 2 requires that a backup connection with an alternative connection destination be established in advance, which causes an extra network load.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a monitoring device, a network monitoring system, a ship, a monitoring method, and a monitoring program that establish communication using various devices in the event of a failure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the monitoring device, network monitoring system, ship, monitoring method, and monitoring program disclosed herein employ the following solutions. The monitoring device of the present disclosure comprises a response request unit that makes response requests to a plurality of devices connected to a single network and acquires communication information; a recording unit that records the communication information of each of the devices acquired by the response request unit; a monitoring unit that monitors a fault status of the network based on the communication information of each of the devices and fault occurrence information of the network from the recording unit; a notification unit that, when the monitoring unit detects that a fault has occurred in the network, notifies each of the devices connected to the network; and an information providing unit that, when the monitoring unit detects that a fault has occurred in the network, selects a device that is proposed to be moved from among the devices that can be moved based on the location of the fault in the network and position information of each of the devices, and provides the device with information on the movement position.

[0007] The network monitoring system of the present disclosure includes a network, a plurality of devices connected to the network, and the above-mentioned monitoring device.

[0008] The ship of the present disclosure is equipped with the network monitoring system described above.

[0009] The monitoring method disclosed herein is executed by a computer and includes a response request process of making response requests to a plurality of devices connected to a single network and acquiring communication information; a recording process of recording the communication information of each of the devices acquired by the response request process; a monitoring process of monitoring a fault status of the network based on the communication information of each of the devices recorded by the recording process and fault occurrence information of the network; a notification process of notifying each of the devices connected to the network when a fault is detected in the network by the monitoring process; and an information providing process of selecting a device to be proposed to be moved from among the devices that can be moved based on the location of the fault in the network and the position information of each of the devices when a fault is detected in the network by the monitoring process, and providing the device with information on the movement position.

[0010] The monitoring program of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the above-mentioned monitoring method. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, even if a network failure occurs, a relocation destination can be proposed to a device in an available network, and the relocated device can be used as a repeater for the failed location. Peer-to-peer communication can be established using the device, and the network can be restored and maintained. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a network in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a monitoring device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the functionality of a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a network using a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]FIG. 2 illustrates a flow of control by a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow of control by a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow of control by a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a monitoring device, a network monitoring system, a ship, a monitoring method, and a monitoring program according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Each device is connected to the network 1 via a wired transmission path 40. Examples of devices (repeaters) that are connected to the wired transmission path 40 and relay signals to other devices include an access point 20 and an integrated sensor 30.

[0015] In this embodiment, the access point 20 is a wireless access point 20 that communicates with other devices wirelessly. Examples of wireless communication include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), and communication using a dedicated communication protocol. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish between the wireless access points 20, any of the letters a, b, c, d, e or f will be added to the end of the name, and when it is not necessary to distinguish between the wireless access points 20, the letters a, b, c, d, e or f will be omitted.

[0016] The integrated sensor 30 is a sensor that is made up of various sensors, and like the wireless access point 20, is capable of wireless communication with other devices. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish between the integrated sensors 30, any of a, b, or c will be added to the end of the sensor name, and when it is not necessary to distinguish between the integrated sensors 30, a, b, or c will be omitted.

[0017] A terminal 10 carried by a user is also connected as a device connected to the network 1. The terminal 10 is a wireless terminal, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a notebook computer, etc. The terminal 10 wirelessly communicates with the wireless access point 20 and the integrated sensor 30 and is connected to the network 1. In the following description, when each terminal 10 is to be distinguished, any of a, b, c, d, or e is added to the end of the terminal name, and when each terminal 10 is not to be distinguished, a, b, c, d, or e is omitted. During normal times when no failure occurs in the network 1, each terminal 10 performs wireless communication via the wireless access point 20 and the integrated sensor 30 as described above in order to reduce the load on the terminal 10.

[0018] For example, a case will be considered in which failures occur at the points indicated by dashed lines in the wired transmission line 40 in FIG. 1, the wireless access points 20a and 20d, and the integrated sensor 30b, making it impossible to connect to the network 1.

[0019] In a situation where this failure has occurred, it is assumed that terminal 10a transmits transmission data 90 to terminal 10e. The transmission data 90 is sent from terminal 10a to wired transmission path 40 via integrated sensor 30a. Since an abnormality has occurred in the dashed line portion of wired transmission path 40 and a network cannot be established, a search is made for a nearby device that can be connected to wireless access point 20b. When terminal 10b is found as a device that can be connected to wireless access point 20b, wireless access point 20b connects to terminal 10b as a relay destination. Similarly, terminal 10b searches for a nearby device that can be connected to. Terminal 10b connects to terminal 10c as a relay destination. Terminal 10c searches for a nearby device that can be connected to. Terminal 10c is unable to find a connectable device, and transmission of transmission data 90 fails.

[0020] On the other hand, the terminal 10d is connected to a wireless access point 20e, and the wireless access point 20e is connected to the integrated sensor 30c via a wired transmission path 40, so that the integrated sensor 30c and the terminal 10e are connected to each other.

[0021] The network 1 is monitored for the occurrence of a failure by a monitoring device 50. The network 1, each device connected to the network, and the monitoring device 50 constitute a network monitoring system 100.

[0022] The network 1 or the network monitoring system 100 may be installed on a ship. Furthermore, the ship may be a naval vessel. The network 1 of this embodiment is assumed to be installed on a ship. In the case of a ship or warship, since many crew members carrying terminals 10 are dispersed throughout the ship, even if a network failure occurs, each terminal 10 can be used as a repeater to establish network communication.

[0023] Furthermore, since a large number of wireless access points 20 and integrated sensors 30 are installed on board the ship or on the vessel, they can be combined with the terminal 10 to establish network communication even in the event of a failure.

[0024] In particular, when the ship is a warship, the network 1 inside the ship is designed with damage resistance in mind, so that even if a failure occurs, all of the wireless access points 20, integrated sensors 30, and wired transmission paths 40 will not become unusable, and network communication can be established using available devices.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a monitoring device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 2, the monitoring device (Controller) 50 is a computer system, and includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit: Processor) 1100, a secondary storage device (ROM, Secondary storage: Memory) 1200, a main storage device (RAM, Main Memory) 1300, a hard disk drive (HDD) 1400 as a large-capacity storage device, and a communication unit 1500 for connecting to a network or the like. Note that a solid-state drive (SSD) may be used as the large-capacity storage device. These units are connected via a bus 1800.

[0026] The CPU 1100 controls the entire monitoring device 50 using, for example, an OS (Operating System) stored in a secondary storage device 1200 connected via a bus 1800, and executes various processes by executing various programs stored in the secondary storage device 1200. One or more CPUs 1100 may be provided, and may cooperate with each other to realize processes.

[0027] The main memory device 1300 is composed of writable memory such as cache memory or RAM (Random Access Memory), and is used as a working area for reading out programs executed by the CPU 1100 and writing data processed by the programs.

[0028] The secondary storage device 1200 is a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The secondary storage device 1200 is, for example, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like. Examples of the secondary storage device 1200 include a ROM (Read Only Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and a SSD (Solid State Drive) flash memory. The secondary storage device 1200 stores, for example, an OS for controlling the entire information processing device such as Windows (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark), a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), various device drivers for operating peripheral devices as hardware, various application software, and various data and files. In addition, the secondary storage device 1200 stores programs for implementing various processes and various data required for implementing various processes. A plurality of secondary storage devices 1200 may be provided, and the above-mentioned programs and data may be divided and stored in each secondary storage device 1200.

[0029] The monitoring device 50 may also include an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, a display device such as a liquid crystal display device for displaying data, etc. The monitoring device 50 may also include a notification device such as a speaker that includes a display unit and outputs a lamp, sound, and in particular an alarm sound.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functionality of a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. The monitoring device 50 is a device that monitors failures in the network 1, and notifies and provides information to each device under the network 1 when a failure occurs. As shown in FIG. 3, the monitoring device 50 includes a response request unit 51, a recording unit 52, a monitoring unit 53, a notification unit 54, and an information providing unit 55.

[0031] A series of processes for realizing the functions of the monitoring device 50 is stored in the secondary storage device 1200 (see FIG. 2) in the form of a program, for example, and the CPU (processor) 1100 (see FIG. 2) reads this program into the main storage device 1300 (see FIG. 2) and executes information processing and arithmetic processing to realize various functions. The program may be pre-installed in the secondary storage device 1200, provided in a state stored in another non-transient computer-readable storage medium, or distributed via wired or wireless communication means. Examples of non-transient computer-readable storage media include magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and semiconductor memories.

[0032] The response request unit 51 shown in Fig. 3 transmits response requests to multiple devices (terminal 10, wireless access point 20, integrated sensor 30, etc.) connected to the network 1, and acquires communication information that is information on whether a response confirmation to the response request has been transmitted from the device. In other words, the communication information is information that indicates that communication is possible with a device that has transmitted a response confirmation to the response request, and that communication is not possible with a device that has not transmitted a response confirmation to the response request. The response request unit 51 may transmit response requests to multiple devices at predetermined time intervals. By transmitting response requests periodically, the occurrence of a fault can be grasped one by one.

[0033] The recording unit 52 records the communication information of each device acquired by the response request unit 51. When the response request unit 51 periodically makes a response request, the recording unit 52 records the communication information successively. The recording unit 52 may record network failure information based on a failure state of the network 1 monitored by a monitoring unit 53 described later.

[0034] The recording unit 52 may record communication information regarding a device that has notified a response (response confirmation) to a response request made by the response request unit 51 as a communicable device, and regarding a device from which no response has been obtained as an incommunicable device.

[0035] The monitoring unit 53 acquires communication information of each device from the recording unit 52, and acquires fault occurrence information on the network 1 from an external input. The fault occurrence information on the network 1 is input to the monitoring unit 53 by, for example, input from another system such as a damage control system, or direct input by a user. The monitoring unit 53 monitors the fault status of the network 1 based on the communication information and the fault occurrence information on the network 1.

[0036] The monitoring unit 53 monitors the fault condition of the network 1, and upon detecting the occurrence of a fault in the network 1, notifies the occurrence of the fault to a notification unit 54 and an information providing unit 55, which will be described later.

[0037] When the monitoring unit 53 detects that a failure has occurred in the network 1, it notifies each device in the network 1 via the notification unit 54 to establish network communication using P2P (Peer to Peer) communication instead of communication using wireless communication means. Specifically, by notifying the mode switch, each device switches to P2P communication.

[0038] When the monitoring unit 53 detects that a fault has occurred in the network 1, the notification unit 54 is notified of the fault occurrence from the monitoring unit 53 and notifies each device connected to the network 1. The notification unit 54 notifies the devices that can communicate of mode switching. When the devices that can communicate receive the mode switching notification from the notification unit 54, they switch their mode from normal mode to fault mode. Each device is in normal mode when no fault has occurred. The fault mode is a mode in which all devices that can connect (communicate) are considered as transfer targets in routing, regardless of whether they are wired or wireless. By switching each device to the fault mode, it is possible to establish network communication using P2P (Peer to Peer) communication instead of communication using wireless communication means.

[0039] When the monitoring unit 53 detects that a fault has occurred in the network 1, the information providing unit 55 is notified of the fault by the monitoring unit 53, and based on the location of the fault in the network 1 and the location information of each device, selects devices that can be moved and proposes moving them, and provides information on the relocation location at the earliest opportunity.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a network using a monitoring device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 5-7 are diagrams illustrating the flow of control by a monitoring device in some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, a case where a failure occurs in the wired transmission path 40 at a location indicated by a dashed line, and in the wireless access points 20a and 20d and the integrated sensor 30b, making it impossible to connect to the network 1 will be considered with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 5, the response request unit 51 of the monitoring device 50 periodically transmits a response request to each device (S101). The communicable device that has received a response request from the monitoring device 50 transmits a response confirmation to the monitoring device 50 (S201). According to FIG. 4, the terminals 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, and 10e, the wireless access points 20b, 20c, and 20e, and the integrated sensors 30a and 30c are communicable devices, and each of them transmits a response confirmation to the monitoring device 50.

[0042] In the monitoring device 50, the recording unit 52 records the communication information based on the response confirmation, and the monitoring unit 53 acquires the communication information. Furthermore, information on the occurrence of a fault in the network 1 is input to the monitoring unit 53, and the monitoring device 50 monitors the fault information (S102).

[0043] The monitoring unit 53 detects whether or not a failure has occurred in the network 1 based on the communication information and the failure occurrence information in the network 1 (S103). In step S103, if it is detected that a failure has occurred in network 1 (Y in S103), the process proceeds to step S104. Also, the process proceeds to C in Fig. 6. On the other hand, if it is detected that no failure has occurred in network 1, the process returns to step S102. In FIG. 4, it is assumed that a fault occurs in the portion of the wired transmission line 40 indicated by the dashed line.

[0044] In step S104, the monitoring unit 53 notifies the notification unit 54 that a failure has occurred in the network 1, and the notification unit 54 notifies each device connected to the network 1 to switch to a failure mode.

[0045] The communicable device that has received the mode switching notification from the notification unit 54 switches the mode from the normal mode to the failure mode (S202).

[0046] On the other hand, an incommunicable device, which is a device from which the response request unit 51 has not received a response to the response request in step S101, is in a state in which it is unable to communicate with the monitoring device 50. The incommunicable device determines whether it has been unable to communicate with the monitoring device 50 for a certain period of time and has been disconnected (S301). If it is determined in step S301 that the incommunicable device has been unable to communicate with the monitoring device 50 for the certain period of time (predetermined period of time), the process proceeds to step S302. On the other hand, if it is determined that the time during which the incommunicable device has been unable to communicate with the monitoring device 50 is not equal to or longer than the certain period of time, the determination in step S301 is performed again. The certain period of time is set to, for example, one minute.

[0047] In step S302, the communication-disabled device switches its mode from the normal mode to the failure mode. According to FIG. 4, the wireless access points 20a, 20d, and 20f and the integrated sensor 30b are incommunicable devices.

[0048] 5, when a failure is detected in the network 1, the process proceeds to C in FIG. 6, and the response request unit 51 of the monitoring device 50 transmits a response request to each device (S105). At this stage, each terminal 10 does not transfer communication data like a repeater such as the wireless access point 20 or the integrated sensor 30.

[0049] The communicable device receives a response request from the response request unit 51 (S203), and transmits a response confirmation to the monitoring device 50 (S204).

[0050] The recording unit 52 of the monitoring device 50 that has received the response confirmation from the communicable device records communication information for the device that has been able to receive the response request based on the response confirmation (S106).

[0051] The monitoring unit 53 monitors the fault status of the network 1 based on the communication information and fault occurrence information of the network 1. When the monitoring unit 53 detects that a fault has occurred in the network 1, the information providing unit 55 selects a device to be proposed to be moved from among the movable devices based on the fault location in the network 1 and the position information of each device, and provides (recommends) the device with information on the moving position (S107). The recording unit 52 may record the network fault information based on the fault status of the network 1 monitored by the monitoring unit 53.

[0052] The selection of the device for which movement is proposed in step S107 will now be described in more detail.

[0053] The monitoring unit 53 creates a heat map of radio waves for each device based on the location where the network 1 is installed, in this embodiment the structure of the ship, fault information for the network 1, and the position and radio wave coverage of each device.

[0054] Of the devices, the wireless access point 20 and the integrated sensor 30 are fixed, so their locations can be determined using identifiers such as IP addresses assigned to the devices.

[0055] Furthermore, since the terminal 10 is held by the user, its location is not fixed, but since it is within a range where it can connect to at least two wireless access points 20 and / or the integrated sensor 30, its location can be determined using triangulation. That is, the location of a terminal 10 whose location can be determined, or a terminal 10 that is within a range where it can connect to two or more wireless access points 20 and / or the integrated sensor 30, can be estimated. A terminal 10 whose location cannot be determined is considered to be at the end of the communication chain, and is not subject to movement because moving this terminal 10 would prevent it from communicating with others.

[0056] The monitoring unit 53 can estimate the connection status between the devices using a heat map created based on this information.

[0057] The information providing unit 55 acquires the position of each device and the connection status of each device with other devices based on the heat map created by the monitoring unit 53. The information providing unit 55 moves the terminal 10 that has the smallest number of devices that cannot communicate when moved among the movable terminals 10, that is, the terminal 10 that has the smallest distance from the failure point among the terminals 10 that have the smallest impact on the network 1 even when moved, to the failure point.

[0058] In FIG. 4, terminal 10c, indicated by a dashed line, is selected as the device for which relocation is proposed because the number of devices that would be unable to communicate if it were moved is the smallest and it is also the shortest distance from the failure point (the dotted line portion in FIG. 4).

[0059] The information providing unit 55 provides information to the terminal 10c selected by the above-mentioned method, recommending movement to the movement location, which is the location of the failure or the vicinity of the failure.

[0060] In step S205, the terminal 10c of the communicable device, that is, the user who owns the terminal 10c, moves to the movement location provided by the information providing unit 55. 4, terminal 10c shown by a dashed line moves to the position of terminal 10c shown by a solid line, which is the moving position provided by information providing unit 55. There was no relay destination for terminal 10c before the movement shown by the dashed line. By moving to the position of terminal 10c shown by a solid line, which is the moving position provided by information providing unit 55, relaying between wireless access point 20c and terminal 10d is performed, and network 1 is complemented.

[0061] In step S206, the terminal 10c that has moved to the movement position notifies the monitoring device 50 of its arrival at the movement position that has been provided. The notification to the monitoring device 50 may be made manually by the user who possesses the terminal 10c.

[0062] In step S108, when the monitoring device 50 receives a notification of the arrival of the terminal 10c at the moving position, the response request unit 51 transmits a response request individually to each device that did not transmit a response confirmation to the response request, that is, each device that did not receive the response request. In step S105, the terminal 10 did not operate as a repeater, but in this step S108, each terminal 10 plays the role of a repeater that transfers communication data, like the wireless access point 20 or the integrated sensor 30. Next, the process transitions to A in FIG. 7.

[0063] In step S109 following transition from A in FIG. 7, when the response request unit 51 receives a response confirmation from a new communication confirmation device and acquires communication information, the recording unit 52 updates the communication information.

[0064] In step S110, the recording unit 52 again updates the network failure information based on information about each device that did not transmit a response confirmation to the response request, that is, information about each device that did not receive a response request.

[0065] In step S111, the monitoring device 50 regards steps S107 to S110 as one cycle and determines whether the rate of increase in the number of communicable devices per cycle is equal to or greater than a specified value. If it is determined that the rate of increase in the number of communicable devices per cycle is equal to or greater than the specified value (Y in S111), the process transitions to B in FIG.

[0066] On the other hand, if it is determined that the rate of increase in the number of communicable devices per cycle falls below the specified value (N in S111), the flow ends. Although the number of communicable devices increases as the cycle is repeated, the rate of increase attenuates, so when the rate of increase falls below the specified value, this control by the monitoring device 50 ends.

[0067] In Fig. 1, the transmission data 90 transmitted from the terminal 10a to the terminal 10e failed to reach the terminal 10e, but by reconstructing the network 1 by the monitoring device 50 in this way, the transmission data 90 reaches the terminal 10e because the terminal 10c moves to a new location in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4, the transmission data 90 transmitted by the terminal 10a reaches the terminal 10e via the integrated sensor 30a, the wired transmission path 40, the wireless access point 20b, the terminal 10b, the wireless access point 20c, the terminal 10c, the terminal 10d, the wireless access point 20e, the wired transmission path 40, and the integrated sensor 30c.

[0068] (Modification) The monitoring device 50 monitors the failure status of the network 1, and if a failure occurs, reconstructs the network 1. In preparation for the occurrence of a failure in the monitoring device 50, each of the multiple terminals 10 is made to take on the role of the monitoring device 50. This makes it possible to reconstruct the network 1 even if a failure occurs in the monitoring device 50.

[0069] All the terminals 10 have a monitoring device function equivalent to that of the monitoring device 50, and in the event that a failure occurs in the monitoring device 50, the terminals 10 activate (enable) the monitoring device function as a substitute for the monitoring device 50.

[0070] If a failure occurs in the monitoring device 50, if all the terminals 10 were to operate the monitoring device function, the communication load would be high and it would be redundant. Therefore, a terminal 10 that will activate the monitoring device function is selected. Taking into consideration the possibility that a failure will occur in a terminal 10, multiple terminals 10 that will activate the monitoring device function are selected. If a failure occurs in the monitoring device 50, the monitoring device function is processed in a distributed manner by the multiple terminals 10.

[0071] Under normal circumstances when no fault has occurred in the network 1, each terminal 10 activates its monitoring device function after a random waiting time when wirelessly connecting to the network 1. Other terminals 10 that have confirmed communication with the terminal 10 that has activated its monitoring device function do not activate their monitoring device function. Under normal circumstances, when no fault has occurred in the network 1, all terminals 10 can connect to the monitoring device 50 or specific terminals 10. In this way, under normal circumstances, the terminals 10 that activate the monitoring device function are narrowed down.

[0072] The monitoring device 50 or a specific terminal 10 selects the terminal 10 with the most stable communication for each area from among the terminals 10 that normally activate the monitoring device function, and activates the monitoring device function of the selected terminal 10. Here, an area refers to a range in which a failure or damage caused by a failure or damage to a certain location spreads simultaneously. For example, if a failure occurs in HUB 1, all devices connected to that HUB cannot connect to network 1 and become unusable. In this way, the range in which a failure or damage spreads simultaneously is defined as an area.

[0073] <Additional Notes> The monitoring device, the network monitoring system, the ship, the monitoring method, and the monitoring program described in the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0074] A monitoring device (50) of a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a response request unit (51) that makes a response request to a plurality of devices (10, 20, 30) connected to one network (1) and acquires communication information; a recording unit (52) that records the communication information of each of the devices acquired by the response request unit; a monitoring unit (53) that monitors a fault status of the network based on the communication information of each of the devices and fault occurrence information of the network from the recording unit; a notification unit (54) that, when the monitoring unit detects that a fault has occurred in the network, notifies each of the devices connected to the network; and an information providing unit (55) that, when the monitoring unit detects that a fault has occurred in the network, selects a device that is proposed to be moved from among the movable devices based on the location of the fault in the network and position information of each of the devices, and provides information of the movement position to the device.

[0075] Even if a network failure occurs, the system can propose a new location for devices in the available network and use the relocated device as a repeater for the failed location. The system can use the devices to establish peer-to-peer communication and restore and maintain the network.

[0076] In the monitoring device of the second aspect of the present disclosure, in the first aspect, the recording unit may record network failure information based on a failure state of the network monitored by the monitoring unit.

[0077] Since network failure information is recorded based on the failure status of the network, the monitoring device and the user can continuously grasp the status of the network.

[0078] In the monitoring device of the third aspect of the present disclosure, in the first or second aspect, the recording unit may record the communication information as a communication-capable device for the device that has notified the response to the response request made by the response request unit, and as a communication-incapable device for the device from which no response has been obtained.

[0079] Devices that respond to a response request are recorded as communicable devices, and devices that do not respond are recorded as incommunicable devices, allowing the monitoring device and the user to continually monitor the communication status of devices within the network.

[0080] A monitoring device of a fourth aspect of the present disclosure may be configured in the third aspect such that, when the monitoring unit detects that a failure has occurred in the network, the notification unit notifies each of the communication-enabled devices of a mode switch, and each of the communication-enabled devices switches from normal mode to failure mode upon receiving the mode switch notification.

[0081] When a network failure is detected, the communicating device switches from normal mode to failure mode, so the communicating device can grasp the network failure. The user who owns the communicating device does not need to manually switch modes, which saves labor.

[0082] A monitoring device of a fifth aspect of the present disclosure may be configured such that, in the third or fourth aspect, when the incommunicable device detects that communication with the monitoring device has not been established for a predetermined period of time, the incommunicable device switches from a normal mode to a failure mode.

[0083] When a network failure occurs and the communication-disabled device cannot communicate with the monitoring device for a certain period of time, the communication-disabled device switches from normal mode to failure mode, so the communication-disabled device can grasp the network failure. The user who owns the communication-disabled device does not need to manually switch modes, which saves labor.

[0084] In a sixth aspect of the monitoring device of the present disclosure, in any one of the third to fifth aspects, when the device moves based on the movement position provided by the information providing unit, the response requesting unit may make a response request to the incommunicable device to obtain new communication information, and the recording unit may update the network fault information based on the communication information.

[0085] As a device moves to a new location, the network conditions may change. Therefore, by sending a response request to the communication-disabled device with which communication was not established, acquiring communication information, and updating the network fault information, it is possible to grasp the latest network status.

[0086] A seventh aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a monitoring device in any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the response request unit issues response requests to a plurality of the devices at predetermined time intervals.

[0087] By making a response request at a predetermined time interval, the network status can be grasped successively.

[0088] In the monitoring device of an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the device may include a repeater (20, 30).

[0089] A network monitoring system (100) according to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure includes a network, a plurality of devices connected to the network, and a monitoring device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.

[0090] A ship according to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure is provided with the network monitoring system according to the ninth aspect.

[0091] A monitoring method of an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure is executed by a computer, comprising: a response request step of making a response request to a plurality of devices connected to one network and acquiring communication information; a recording step of recording the communication information of each of the devices acquired by the response request step; a monitoring step of monitoring a fault status of the network based on the communication information of each of the devices recorded by the recording step and fault occurrence information of the network; a notification step of notifying each of the devices connected to the network when a fault is detected in the network by the monitoring step; and an information providing step of selecting a device to be proposed to be moved from among the devices that can be moved based on the location of the fault in the network and position information of each of the devices when a fault is detected in the network by the monitoring step, and providing the device with information on the movement position.

[0092] A monitoring program according to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the monitoring method according to the eleventh aspect. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 1: Network 10: Terminal 20: Wireless access point (access point) 30: Integrated Sensor 40: Wired transmission line 50: Monitoring device 51: Response request section 52: Recording section 53: Monitoring Department 54:Notification Department 55: Information provision department 90: Send data 100: Network monitoring system 1100: CPU 1200: Secondary storage device 1300: Main memory 1500: Communications Department 1800: Bus

Claims

1. a response request unit that issues a response request to a plurality of devices connected to one network and acquires communication information; a recording unit that records the communication information of each of the devices acquired by the response request unit; a monitoring unit that monitors a fault condition of the network based on the communication information of each of the devices and fault occurrence information of the network from the recording unit; a notification unit that notifies each of the devices connected to the network when the monitoring unit detects that a fault has occurred in the network; an information providing unit that, when the monitoring unit detects that a fault has occurred in the network, selects a device to be moved from among the movable devices based on the location of the fault in the network and position information of each of the devices, and provides information on the moving location to the selected device; A monitoring device comprising:

2. The monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the recording unit records network failure information based on a failure state of the network monitored by the monitoring unit.

3. The monitoring device according to claim 2 , wherein the recording unit records the communication information as a communication-capable device when the device has notified the response to the response request made by the response request unit, and as a communication-incapable device when the device has not received a response.

4. the notification unit notifies each of the communicable devices of a mode switch when the monitoring unit detects that a failure has occurred in the network; The monitoring device according to claim 3 , wherein each of the communicable devices switches from the normal mode to the failure mode upon receiving a mode switching notification.

5. 4. The monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein the incommunicable device switches from a normal mode to a failure mode when it detects that communication with the monitoring device has not been established for a predetermined period of time.

6. When the device moves based on the movement position provided by the information providing unit, the response request unit issues the response request to the communication-disabled device to acquire new communication information; The monitoring device according to claim 3 , wherein the recording unit updates the network fault information based on the communication information.

7. The monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the response request unit issues the response requests to the plurality of devices at predetermined time intervals.

8. The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the device includes a repeater.

9. Network and A plurality of devices connected to the network; A monitoring device according to claim 1; A network monitoring system comprising:

10. A marine vessel comprising a network monitoring system according to claim 9.

11. a response request step of making a response request to a plurality of devices connected to one network and acquiring communication information; a recording step of recording the communication information of each of the devices acquired by the response request step; a monitoring step of monitoring a fault condition of the network based on the communication information of each of the devices recorded in the recording step and fault occurrence information of the network; a notification step of notifying each of the devices connected to the network when the occurrence of a fault in the network is detected by the monitoring step; an information providing step of selecting, when the occurrence of a fault in the network is detected by the monitoring step, a device to be proposed to be moved from among the devices that can be moved based on the location of the fault in the network and position information of each of the devices, and providing information of the moving position to the selected device; 13. A computer-implemented monitoring method comprising:

12. A monitoring program for causing a computer to execute the monitoring method according to claim 11.

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