Wireless communication monitoring system, wireless communication monitoring method, and monitoring device

Abstract

The present invention is a wireless communication monitoring system that monitors hardware failure in a wireless communication unit of a wireless communication device by using a remote monitoring control device, wherein the wireless communication device performs a connectivity confirmation to confirm an action by transmitting and receiving a predetermined signal to and from a monitoring device added to or affixed to a host device, and the remote monitoring control device detects the hardware failure in the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device on the basis of the result of the connectivity confirmation received from the wireless communication device. This makes it possible to detect failure that cannot be detected from information obtained from a device state request to a traditional wireless communication device.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for detecting a fault in a wireless communication unit of a wireless communication device by using a monitoring device. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, wireless communication systems monitor the operation of wireless communication devices to detect faults. For example, in a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) system, a wireless LAN controller monitors the operation of a wireless LAN access point by using a ping command to check whether the access point is alive (to check whether it is operating normally) or by using a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to collect detailed device status (for example, see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] https: / / xtech.nikkei.com / it / members / NCC / NETPOINT / 20021126 / 3 / [Non-Patent Document 2] https: / / it-trend.jp / network_monitoring / article / 44-0009 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional technology, ping is sent from the wireless LAN controller to the LAN side interface of the wireless LAN access point, so there is a problem that it cannot detect abnormalities in the wireless section including the wireless communication circuit.In addition, SNMP can monitor hardware failures and traffic flow information by acquiring MIB (Management Information Base) that checks various status information defined in the device, but it cannot detect hardware failures that are not reflected in the MIB.

[0005] However, even if the hardware failure cannot be detected by MIB, it may be possible to detect the failure if a normal wireless LAN access point is installed separately from the wireless LAN access point with the failure on the same floor of the office. For example, by monitoring and comparing the traffic flow rate of the main signal of the wireless LAN access point, it is possible to detect characteristics such as unnaturally low traffic only for the wireless LAN access point with the failure, and indirectly detect the hardware failure.

[0006] However, when there is only one device at one location, such as a public wireless LAN access point deployed in a convenience store, hardware failures that cannot be detected by MIB cannot be detected indirectly as described above. Also, when there is no main signal traffic at all at the access point, there is a problem that it is not possible to distinguish whether wireless LAN radio waves are not being transmitted due to a hardware failure in the wireless communication section, or whether the hardware is normal but there are simply no users.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a wireless communication monitoring system, a wireless communication monitoring method, and a monitoring device that can detect faults that cannot be detected solely by information obtained from a device status request to a wireless communication device as in the conventional method by adding or attaching a monitoring device to a wireless communication device and performing a status check between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a wireless communication monitoring system that monitors a hardware failure of a wireless communication unit of at least one wireless communication device by a remote monitoring control device, wherein the wireless communication device performs a live check to check the operation by transmitting and receiving a predetermined wireless signal between the wireless communication device and a monitoring device attached or affixed to the wireless communication device, and the remote monitoring control device detects a failure including a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device based on a device status response of the wireless communication device including a result of the live check received from the wireless communication device. detection The present invention is characterized by carrying out the following steps.

[0009] The present invention also provides a wireless communication monitoring method for monitoring a hardware failure of a wireless communication unit of at least one wireless communication device by a remote monitoring and control device, in which the wireless communication device performs a live check to check the operation by transmitting and receiving a predetermined wireless signal between the wireless communication device and a monitoring device attached or affixed to the wireless communication device, and the remote monitoring and control device determines whether or not the wireless communication device is operating properly based on a device status response of the wireless communication device including a result of the live check received from the wireless communication device, and detects a failure including a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device. detection The present invention is characterized by carrying out the following steps.

[0010] The present invention is also characterized in that it has a power generation unit that is attached or affixed to a wireless communication device and generates the power necessary for operation using radio waves emitted from the wireless communication device, a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device, and a monitoring control unit that returns a response signal when it receives a predetermined alive confirmation signal from the wireless communication device via the wireless communication unit to confirm whether or not the wireless communication device is operating. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The wireless communication monitoring system, wireless communication monitoring method, and monitoring device of the present invention can detect faults that cannot be detected by only the information obtained from a device status request to a wireless communication device as in the conventional method by adding or attaching the monitoring device to a wireless communication device and performing a status check between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication monitoring system of a comparative example. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication device. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of a wireless communication device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring device of a wireless communication monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a monitoring sequence of the wireless communication monitoring system according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a monitoring sequence of a wireless communication monitoring system of a comparative example. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless LAN monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless LAN monitoring system of a comparative example. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless LAN access point according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a monitoring device of a wireless LAN monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a monitoring sequence of the wireless LAN monitoring system according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring sequence of a wireless LAN monitoring system of a comparative example. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a failure isolation process in a wireless LAN monitoring system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a wireless communication monitoring system, a wireless communication monitoring method, and a monitoring device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] Fig. 1 shows an example of a wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment. In Fig. 1, the wireless communication monitoring system 100 includes a wireless communication device 101(1), a wireless communication device 101(2),..., a wireless communication device 101(n), a monitoring device 104(1), a monitoring device 104(2),..., a monitoring device 104(n), and a remote monitoring and controlling device 102. Here, the explanation common to the n devices (n is a positive integer) from the wireless communication device 101(1) to the wireless communication device 101(n) will be described as the wireless communication device 101 with the (number) at the end of the reference numeral omitted. The same explanation will be applied to the monitoring devices 104(1) to 104(n).

[0015] In FIG. 1, n wireless communication devices 101 and a remote monitoring and control device 102 can communicate with each other via a network 103 .

[0016] The wireless communication device 101 is connected to a wireless terminal such as a smartphone, and the wireless terminal can access other wireless terminals, the Internet, and the like via the wireless communication device 101 and the network 103 .

[0017] The remote monitoring and control device 102 monitors the device status of the n wireless communication devices 101 via the network 103 and detects any failures.

[0018] The network 103 is composed of network devices compatible with, for example, IP (Internet Protocol), and devices connected to the network 103 can communicate with each other.

[0019] The monitoring device 104 is attached or affixed to each of the n wireless communication devices 101, and performs predetermined wireless communication with the attached or affixed wireless communication device 101, thereby enabling detection of a fault in a wireless communication unit (wireless communication unit 201 described below) of the wireless communication device 101. In this embodiment, the monitoring device 104 can obtain power for operation from radio waves generated when the wireless communication device 101 performs wireless communication.

[0020] In this way, the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment can monitor the device status of at least one wireless communication device 101 by the remote monitoring and control device 102, and detect a fault in the wireless communication device 101. In particular, in this embodiment, by using the monitoring device 104, it becomes possible to detect a hardware fault in the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device 101, which was difficult to detect using the conventional SNMP MIB for acquiring the device status.

[0021] 2 shows an example of a comparative wireless communication monitoring system 700. In FIG. 2, the wireless communication monitoring system 700 has wireless communication devices 701(1) to 701(n) and a remote monitoring and control device 702, and communicates via a network 703.

[0022] Here, the wireless communication device 701, the remote monitoring and control device 702, and the network 703 of the comparative example correspond to the wireless communication device 101, the remote monitoring and control device 102, and the network 103 of Fig. 1, respectively. However, since the remote monitoring and control device 702 of the comparative example performs failure detection using the MIB of SNMP for acquiring the device status as in the past, it is difficult to detect a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device 701. For example, when no main signal traffic flows through the wireless communication device 701, there is a problem that it is not possible to distinguish whether radio waves are not being transmitted due to a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit, or whether the hardware of the wireless communication unit is normal but there are simply no users.

[0023] 1 according to this embodiment performs predetermined wireless communication between the wireless communication device 101 and a monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, thereby making it possible to check whether the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device 101 is operating or not, thereby making it possible to detect a hardware failure in the wireless communication unit. A specific detection method will be described in detail later.

[0024] 3 shows an example of a wireless communication device 101. In FIG. 3, the wireless communication device 101 includes a wireless communication unit 201, a main signal processing unit 202, and a monitor and control unit 203.

[0025] The wireless communication unit 201 performs wireless communication with a wireless terminal connected to the device itself. For example, the wireless communication unit 201 converts a wireless frame input from the main signal processing unit 202 into a wireless signal and transmits it to the wireless terminal, and converts a wireless signal received from the wireless terminal into a wireless frame and outputs it to the main signal processing unit 202. The wireless communication unit 201 can also check whether the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to the device itself is operating normally (check whether it is alive or dead) by performing predetermined wireless communication with the monitoring device 104.

[0026] The main signal processing unit 202 has an input / output terminal for main signal traffic, and inputs / outputs main signal traffic between the main signal processing unit 202 and other devices connected via the network 103. For example, the main signal processing unit 202 converts main signal traffic input from the network 103 into a wireless frame and outputs it to the wireless communication unit 201, and converts a wireless frame input from the wireless communication unit 201 into main signal traffic and outputs it to the network 103.

[0027] The monitoring control unit 203 faces the remote monitoring control device 102, and the remote monitoring control device 102 sets / controls each unit in the device. The monitoring control unit 203 also notifies the remote monitoring control device 102 of information such as obtaining the device status of the device itself and collecting / managing alarm information (warnings, etc.) in the device itself. Here, a signal that the monitoring control unit 203 transmits / receives between the remote monitoring control device 102 and the monitoring control device is called a monitoring control signal. The monitoring control unit 203 has an input / output terminal for a monitoring control signal, and inputs / outputs the monitoring control signal between the remote monitoring control device 102 and the remote monitoring control device 102 via the network 103. For example, the monitoring control unit 203 receives a monitoring control signal via the network 103, and performs setting / control of the wireless communication unit 201 and the main signal processing unit 202 and the wireless communication unit 201 based on the monitoring control signal. The monitoring control unit 203 also transmits information obtained from each unit of the wireless communication device 101, such as the wireless communication unit 201 and the main signal processing unit 202, to the remote monitoring control device 102 via the network 103 by the monitoring control signal. In particular, in this embodiment, the monitoring control unit 203 communicates with the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to its own device via the wireless communication unit 201 to confirm whether the device is alive or dead, and transmits a device status response including the result of the alive or dead confirmation to the remote monitoring and control device 102.

[0028] As described above, in the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment, the wireless communication device 101 checks whether it is alive or dead with the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, and transmits the device status including the result of the check to the remote monitoring and controlling device 102. This enables the remote monitoring and controlling device 102 to detect failures including hardware failures in the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device 101.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows an example of a wireless communication device 101'. FIG. 4 shows another example of the wireless communication device 101 described in FIG. 3, and the difference from the wireless communication device 101 is that it has a signal distribution unit 204. In FIG. 4, the wireless communication unit 201, the main signal processing unit 202, and the monitoring and control unit 203 have the same functions as the blocks with the same symbols in FIG. 3, so that duplicated explanations will be omitted. In the wireless communication device 101 in FIG. 3, the input / output terminal for the main signal traffic and the input / output terminal for the monitoring and control signal are separately provided, but in the wireless communication device 101' in FIG. 4, the input / output terminal for the main signal traffic and the input / output terminal for the monitoring and control signal are integrated into one, and both the main signal and the monitoring and control signal are input and output in a mixed manner at one input / output terminal. Then, the signal distribution unit 204 determines a signal input from one input / output terminal, and distributes the signal so that if it is the main signal traffic, it is output from the main signal processing unit 202, and if it is the monitoring and control signal, it is output to the monitoring and control unit 203.

[0030] 4, main signal traffic transmitted from main signal processing unit 202 is output from signal distribution unit 204 to network 103, and a monitor control signal transmitted from monitor control unit 203 is output from signal distribution unit 204 to network 103. Here, the configuration of wireless communication device 101' shown in Fig. 4 corresponds to a system having only one input / output terminal such as a wireless LAN access point, in which both a main signal and a monitor control signal are mixed.

[0031] Fig. 5 shows an example of the monitoring device 104 according to this embodiment. The monitoring device 104 is used by being attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, as described in Fig. 1. Note that the method of attachment or affixing to the wireless communication device 101 may be any commonly used method, such as a hook, a screw, or an adhesive.

[0032] In FIG. 5, the monitoring device 104 includes a wireless communication unit 301 , a signal processing unit 302 , a monitoring control unit 303 , and a power generation unit 304 .

[0033] The wireless communication unit 301 converts a wireless frame output from the signal processing unit 302 into a radio wave and transmits it to the wireless communication device 101, and converts a radio wave received from the wireless communication device 101 into a wireless frame and outputs it to the signal processing unit 302. For example, the wireless communication unit 301 performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 101 to which it is attached or pasted, and transmits a response signal to the wireless communication device 101 when it receives an alive check signal (such as a ping signal) from the wireless communication device 101.

[0034] The signal processing unit 302 converts a transmission signal output from the monitoring and control unit 303 into a wireless frame and outputs it to the wireless communication unit 301, and converts a wireless frame input from the wireless communication unit 301 into a received signal. For example, the signal processing unit 302 inputs a wireless frame in which a live / dead confirmation signal received by the wireless communication unit 301 from the wireless communication device 101 is stored, converts it into a live / dead confirmation signal, and outputs it to the monitoring and control unit 303. Conversely, the signal processing unit 302 converts a response signal for live / dead confirmation output from the monitoring and control unit 303 into a wireless frame and outputs it to the wireless communication unit 301. Furthermore, when establishing a link with the wireless communication device 101, etc., the signal processing unit 302 converts information that the monitoring and control unit 303 transmits and receives between the wireless communication device 101 and the wireless communication unit 101 into a wireless frame as necessary, and transmits and receives it via the wireless communication unit 301.

[0035] The monitoring control unit 303 manages monitoring control information by inputting and outputting it between the wireless communication unit 301 and the signal processing unit 302, and also communicates with the monitoring control unit 203 of the wireless communication device 101 to which the information is to be added or pasted. Specifically, when the monitoring control unit 303 receives a request for alive confirmation from the wireless communication device 101, the monitoring control unit 303 performs a process of returning a response to the alive confirmation to the wireless communication device 101 and a process of establishing a link with the wireless communication device 101.

[0036] The power generation unit 304 receives radio waves emitted by the wireless communication device 101 to which it is attached or pasted, thereby generating power for the monitoring device 104 to transmit radio waves, and supplies the power to each unit in the device itself. As a result, the monitoring device 104 according to this embodiment operates without being supplied with power from an external source, and can communicate with the wireless communication device 101. For example, the power generation unit 304 can be realized by a resonant circuit that converts the radio waves emitted by the wireless communication device 101 into power, and a capacitor that accumulates the generated power. Note that the monitoring device 104 can communicate in the same way as a wireless terminal, etc., using the radio waves that the wireless communication device 101 uses for communication, and can also be considered as one of the wireless terminals fixed to the wireless communication device 101 to which the communication destination is attached or pasted.

[0037] In this way, the monitoring device 104 is attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, and can perform alive check with the wireless communication device 101. Then, the wireless communication device 101 obtains the result of the alive check with the monitoring device 104, and transmits the device status including the result of the alive check to the remote monitoring and control device 102. This allows the remote monitoring and control device 102 to detect a hardware failure in the wireless communication unit 201 of the wireless communication device 101.

[0038] 6 shows an example of a monitoring sequence of the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment. The sequence of FIG. 6 is executed by the remote monitoring and control device 102, the monitoring control unit 203 of the wireless communication device 101, and the monitoring control unit 303 of the monitoring device 104.

[0039] In step S101, the remote monitoring and control device 102 requests information about the device status from the monitoring control unit 203 of each of the wireless communication devices 101 to be managed, in order to monitor the n wireless communication devices 101 (device status request).

[0040] In step S102, the monitor / control unit 203 of each wireless communication device 101 that has received the device status request from the remote monitor / control device 102 performs alive / dead check on the monitor / control unit 303 of the monitoring device 104.

[0041] In step S103, when the monitoring control unit 303 of the monitoring device 104 receives a live / dead confirmation from the wireless communication device 101, the monitoring control unit 303 returns a response to the live / dead confirmation to the wireless communication device 101.

[0042] In step S104, the monitoring control unit 203 of the wireless communication device 101 transmits information such as the device status and warnings of its own device, including the result of the alive check with the monitoring device 104 (presence or absence of a response), to the remote monitoring and control device 102 (device status response). Here, when the monitoring control unit 203 of the wireless communication device 101 receives a response to the alive check from the monitoring device 104, it recognizes that the alive check with the monitoring device 104 has been successful.

[0043] The above-mentioned sequence is executed in the same manner for the n wireless communication devices 101, from the wireless communication device 101(1) to the wireless communication device 101(n).

[0044] The remote monitoring and controlling device 102 collects, from the n wireless communication devices 101, the device status of each wireless communication device 101, including the result of alive check with the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to each wireless communication device 101. In this embodiment, the remote monitoring and controlling device 102 performs failure detection using the result of alive check with the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, and can therefore detect failures including hardware failures in the wireless communication unit 201 of the wireless communication device 101. For example, even if the wireless communication device 101 is determined to be normal without any failure being found by conventional methods (ping or SNMP), if there is no response to the alive check from the monitoring device 104, it can be determined that there is a possibility that a hardware failure has occurred in the wireless communication unit 201 of the wireless communication device 101.

[0045] As described above, in the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment, the wireless communication device 101 performs a live / dead check with the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, and notifies the device status of the device itself, including the result of the live / dead check, to the remote monitoring and control device 102. Then, the remote monitoring and control device 102 can detect a failure, including a hardware failure, of the wireless communication unit 201 of the wireless communication device 101, based on the device status of the device itself, including the result of the live / dead check.

[0046] 7 shows an example of a monitoring sequence of a wireless communication monitoring system 700 of a comparative example. In order to monitor n wireless communication devices 701 as management targets, a remote monitoring and control device 702 requests information about device status from a monitoring control unit (corresponding to the monitoring control unit 203 in FIG. 3) of each wireless communication device 701 one by one (S701: device status request). Upon receiving the device status request, the monitoring control unit of each wireless communication device 701 responds with information such as device status and warnings that it holds (S702: device status response).

[0047] As described above, in the wireless communication monitoring system 700 of the comparative example, only a device status request is sent from the remote monitoring and control device 702 to the wireless communication device 701 in step S701, and a device status response is sent from the wireless communication device 701 to the remote monitoring and control device 702 in step S702. This results in a problem that it is difficult to detect a fault that cannot be obtained as a device status.

[0048] In contrast, in the monitoring sequence of the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a live check is performed with the monitoring device 104 attached or affixed to the wireless communication device 101, and a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit 201 of the wireless communication device 101 can be detected by checking whether the wireless communication unit 201 is operating.

[0049] (Example of application to wireless LAN) Next, an example in which the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to the above embodiment is applied to a wireless LAN will be described.

[0050] Fig. 8 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to this embodiment. The wireless LAN monitoring system 100a shown in Fig. 8 is an example in which the wireless communication monitoring system 100 described in Fig. 1 is replaced with a wireless LAN.

[0051] 8, the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a has a wireless LAN access point 101a(1), a wireless LAN access point 101a(2), a wireless LAN access point 101a(n), a monitoring device 104a(1), a monitoring device 104a(2), a monitoring device 104a(n), and a wireless LAN controller 102a, and can communicate with each other via a network 103a. Here, the explanation common to the n units (n is a positive integer) from the wireless LAN access point 101a(1) to the wireless LAN access point 101a(n) will be described as the wireless LAN access point 101a with the (number) at the end of the reference numeral omitted. The same explanation will be given for the monitoring devices 104a(1) to 104a(n).

[0052] 8, the wireless LAN controller 102a communicates with n wireless LAN access points 101a via a network 103a, and obtains device information including the results of alive checks between the n monitoring devices 104a attached or affixed to the n wireless LAN access points 101a, respectively. This allows the wireless LAN controller 102a to detect a hardware failure in the wireless LAN access point 101a.

[0053] In FIG. 8, a wireless LAN access point 101a has a DHCP server function and can assign IP addresses to terminals (wireless terminals such as smartphones) connected to the wireless LAN access point 101a.

[0054] Also, the monitoring device 104a is one of the terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point 101a, but the monitoring device 104a does not receive an IP address from the DHCP server, but is assigned a predetermined fixed IP address. The reason for this is to prevent a situation in which, when the monitoring device 104a is replaced due to a breakdown or other reason in a situation where the IP addresses from the DHCP server have been exhausted, it becomes impossible to assign an IP address to the new monitoring device 104a, and as a result, the wireless LAN access point 101a is unable to check whether the monitoring device 104a is alive (ping).

[0055] In addition, a successful alive check (ping) from the wireless LAN access point 101a to the monitoring device 104a can be considered to mean that each block of the wireless LAN access point 101a related to the ping is normal, and in particular that the wireless LAN radio waves are being transmitted and received normally.

[0056] Furthermore, when a failure occurs in the wireless communication unit (wireless communication unit 201a described below) of the wireless LAN access point 101a and radio waves are not being transmitted, the wireless LAN access point 101a is unable to detect the failure, and the response to the device status request by SNMP is always normal, so that the above-mentioned failure cannot be detected in the case of the conventional technology. However, the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to this embodiment actually uses radio waves from the wireless LAN to determine the failure, including the result of a live check (ping) of the monitoring device 104a, so that even the above-mentioned failure can be detected.

[0057] Fig. 9 shows a configuration example of a wireless LAN monitoring system 700a of the comparative example. In Fig. 9, the wireless LAN monitoring system 700a of the comparative example has a wireless LAN access point 701a(1), a wireless LAN access point 701a(2), a wireless LAN access point 701a(n), and a wireless LAN controller 702a, which can communicate with each other via a network 703a.

[0058] Here, the wireless LAN access point 701a, wireless LAN controller 702a, and network 703a of the comparative example correspond to the wireless LAN access point 101a, wireless LAN controller 102a, and network 103a of Fig. 8, respectively, but it is difficult for the wireless LAN controller 702a to detect a hardware failure in the wireless communication unit (not shown) of the wireless LAN access point 701a. For example, when no wireless LAN signal flows through the wireless LAN access point 701a, there is a problem that it is not possible to distinguish whether radio waves are not being transmitted due to a hardware failure in the wireless communication unit, or whether the hardware of the wireless communication unit is normal but there are simply no users.

[0059] In contrast, in the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to this embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the wireless LAN access point 101a performs a live check of the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a by pinging. This allows the wireless LAN controller 102a to check whether the wireless communication unit of the wireless LAN access point 101a is operating or not, based on the presence or absence of a ping response.

[0060] Fig. 10 shows an example of a wireless LAN access point 101a according to this embodiment. In Fig. 10, the wireless LAN access point 101a has a wireless communication unit 201a, a main signal processing unit 202a, a monitoring control unit 203a, and a signal distribution unit 204a. Here, the wireless communication unit 201a, the main signal processing unit 202a, the monitoring control unit 203a, and the signal distribution unit 204a correspond to the wireless communication unit 201, the main signal processing unit 202, the monitoring control unit 203, and the signal distribution unit 204 in Fig. 4, respectively, and operate in the same manner as the wireless communication device 101 in Fig. 4, except that they handle wireless LAN frames as wireless frames, have a DHCP server function, and assign IP addresses to connected terminals.

[0061] 10, the monitoring control unit 203a has an input / output terminal for a main signal / monitoring control signal, and transmits / receives a main signal to / from a communication destination device and transmits / receives a monitoring control signal to / from the wireless LAN controller 102a via the network 103a. For example, the monitoring control unit 203a receives a monitoring control signal via the network 103a, and controls the wireless communication unit 201a, the main signal processing unit 202a, and the signal distribution unit 204a based on the monitoring control signal. The monitoring control unit 203a also performs a live / dead check with the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to its own device, and transmits the device status including the live / dead check result to the wireless LAN controller 102a via the network 103a using a monitoring control signal.

[0062] In addition, the wireless LAN access point 101a has a DHCP server function and can assign IP addresses to terminals (wireless terminals such as smartphones) connected to the wireless LAN access point 101a. The monitoring device 104a is one of the terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point 101a, but the monitoring device 104a does not receive an IP address from the DHCP server, but is assigned a predetermined fixed IP address.

[0063] Here, when a failure occurs in the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a and radio waves are not being transmitted, and the monitoring control unit 203a is unable to detect the failure, the wireless LAN controller 102a cannot detect the above-mentioned failure in the conventional technology because the wireless LAN access point 101a only returns a normal response to the device status request by SNMP. However, in this embodiment, the wireless LAN access point 101a performs a live / dead check (ping) on ​​the monitoring device 104a using actual wireless LAN radio waves, and transmits a device status response including the live / dead check result to the wireless LAN controller 102a, so the wireless LAN controller 102a can detect even the above-mentioned failure.

[0064] 11 shows an example of the configuration of the monitoring device 104a. The monitoring device 104a is attached or affixed to n wireless LAN access points 101a monitored and controlled by the wireless LAN controller 102a. Here, the monitoring device 104a does not receive an IP address from the DHCP server of the wireless LAN access point 101a, but is assigned a predetermined fixed IP address, and performs processing to respond to an alive check (ping) from the wireless LAN access point 101a. It is assumed that the monitoring device 104a communicates with the wireless LAN access point 101a by establishing a link.

[0065] In Fig. 11, the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a has a wireless communication unit 301a, a signal processing unit 302a, a monitoring control unit 303a, and a power generation unit 304a. Here, the wireless communication unit 301a, the signal processing unit 302a, the monitoring control unit 303a, and the power generation unit 304a correspond to the wireless communication unit 301, the signal processing unit 302, the monitoring control unit 303, and the power generation unit 304 in Fig. 5, respectively, and operate in the same manner as the monitoring device 104 in Fig. 5, except that they handle wireless LAN frames as wireless frames. The following describes the parts that are different from Fig. 5.

[0066] The wireless communication unit 301a converts the wireless LAN frame output from the signal processing unit 302a into radio waves and transmits it to the wireless LAN access point 101a, and converts the radio waves received from the wireless LAN access point 101a into wireless LAN frames and outputs them to the signal processing unit 302a. For example, the wireless communication unit 301a performs wireless communication with the attached or pasted wireless LAN access point 101a, and when it receives an alive check (ping) from the wireless LAN access point 101a, it returns a ping response to the wireless LAN access point 101a. Note that if it does not receive a ping, no response is returned.

[0067] The signal processing unit 302a converts a transmission signal output from the monitoring control unit 303a into a wireless LAN frame and outputs it to the wireless communication unit 301a, and converts a wireless LAN frame input from the wireless communication unit 301a into a reception signal. For example, the signal processing unit 302a inputs a wireless LAN frame containing a ping signal received by the wireless communication unit 301a from the wireless LAN access point 101a, converts it into a ping signal, and outputs it to the monitoring control unit 303a. Conversely, the signal processing unit 302a converts a response signal of the ping output from the monitoring control unit 303a into a wireless LAN frame and transmits it from the wireless communication unit 301a to the wireless LAN access point 101a. In addition, when establishing a link with the wireless LAN access point 101a, etc., the signal processing unit 302a converts information transmitted and received by the monitoring control unit 303a to the wireless LAN access point 101a into a wireless LAN frame as necessary, and transmits and receives the information by the wireless communication unit 301a.

[0068] The monitoring control unit 303a manages monitoring control information by inputting and outputting it between the wireless communication unit 301a and the signal processing unit 302a, and also communicates with the monitoring control unit 203a of the attached or pasted wireless LAN access point 101a. Specifically, when the monitoring control unit 303a receives a ping request from the wireless LAN access point 101a, the monitoring control unit 303a performs a process of returning a ping response to the wireless LAN access point 101a and a process of establishing a link with the wireless LAN access point 101a. The monitoring control unit 303a holds a predetermined IP address, which is used as the source address of the wireless LAN frame processed by the signal processing unit 302a.

[0069] The power generating section 304a is the same as the power generating section 304 described in FIG. 5, and therefore a duplicated description will be omitted.

[0070] Thus, in the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to this embodiment, the monitoring device 104a is attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a, and performs alive check with the wireless LAN access point 101a by ping. Then, the wireless LAN access point 101a transmits the device status including the alive check result to the wireless LAN controller 102a, so that the wireless LAN controller 102a can detect a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a.

[0071] Fig. 12 shows an example of a monitoring sequence of the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to this embodiment. The sequence of Fig. 12 is executed by the wireless LAN controller 102a, the monitoring control unit 203a of the wireless LAN access point 101a, and the monitoring control unit 303a of the monitoring device 104a.

[0072] Here, the monitoring sequence of the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a shown in Fig. 12 is basically the same as the monitoring sequence of the wireless communication monitoring system 100 described in Fig. 6. The following describes the differences from Fig. 6.

[0073] In step S101a, the wireless LAN controller 102a monitors the n wireless LAN access points 101a to be managed, and requests information about the device status via SNMP from the monitor control unit 203a of each of the wireless LAN access points 101a one by one (device status request).

[0074] In step S102a, the monitoring control unit 203a of each wireless LAN access point 101a that has received a device status request by SNMP from the wireless LAN controller 102a transmits a ping to an IP address previously assigned to the monitoring control unit 303a of the monitoring device 104a to check whether the device is alive or not. The transmitted ping is transmitted from the main signal processing unit 202a of the wireless LAN access point 101a through the wireless communication unit 201a as a wireless LAN radio wave, received by the wireless communication unit 301a of the monitoring device 104a, and reaches the monitoring control unit 303a of the monitoring device 104a via the signal processing unit 302a.

[0075] In step S103a, when the monitoring control unit 303a of the monitoring device 104a receives a ping from the wireless LAN access point 101a, the monitoring control unit 303a returns a response to the ping to the wireless LAN access point 101a. The ping response transmitted from the monitoring control unit 303a of the monitoring device 104a is converted into a wireless LAN frame by the signal processing unit 302a, and transmitted from the wireless communication unit 301a to the wireless LAN access point 101a as wireless LAN radio waves. The ping response received by the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a reaches the monitoring control unit 203a via the main signal processing unit 202a. The wireless LAN access point 101a that receives the ping response recognizes that the alive check of the monitoring device 104a has been successful.

[0076] In step S104a, in response to the device status request in step S101a, the monitoring control unit 203a of the wireless LAN access point 101a transmits to the wireless LAN controller 102a the SNMP MIB information such as the device status and alarms of the wireless LAN access point 101a, including the result of the ping between the monitoring device 104a (whether there is a response or whether the alive check was successful or not) (corresponding to the device status response in FIG. 6). Here, the wireless LAN access point 101a has a memory for managing the SNMP MIB information. The memory is the same as that of the wireless LAN access point 701a of the comparative example described later.

[0077] Then, the above-mentioned sequence is executed in the same manner for the n wireless LAN access points 101a from the wireless LAN access point 101a(1) to the wireless LAN access point 101a(n).

[0078] The wireless LAN controller 102a collects the device status of each of the n wireless LAN access points 101a, including the ping results between the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to each of the n wireless LAN access points 101a. The wireless LAN controller 102a then detects failures, including hardware failures, of the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a, based on the device status of each of the wireless LAN access points 101a, including the ping results between the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a. This makes it possible to detect hardware failures in the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a, which have been difficult to detect using only SNMP MIB information.

[0079] In this manner, in the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to the present embodiment, the wireless LAN access point 101a performs a live check with the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a by pinging and notifies the wireless LAN controller 102a of the device status including the ping result. Then, the wireless LAN controller 102a can detect a failure including a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a based on the device status including the ping result.

[0080] Here, in the description of FIG. 12, the timing of the ping sent by the monitoring control unit 203a of the wireless LAN access point 101a to the monitoring control unit 303a of the monitoring device 104a is when the device status request from the wireless LAN controller 102a is received. In other words, the timing of receiving the device status request is the trigger for sending the ping. However, regardless of the presence or absence of the device status request from the wireless LAN controller 102a as shown in FIG. 12, the monitoring control unit 203a of the wireless LAN access point 101a may periodically send a ping to check whether the monitoring device 104a is alive or dead. In this case, the wireless LAN access point 101a can appropriately notify the wireless LAN controller 102a of the result of no ping response. Note that, when there is a ping response, the monitoring device 104a does not need to send the result of the ping response to the wireless LAN access point 101a.

[0081] 13 shows an example of a monitoring sequence of a wireless LAN monitoring system 700a of a comparative example. In FIG. 13, a wireless LAN controller 702a executes the following process for a specific wireless LAN access point 701a.

[0082] In order to grasp the device status of the wireless LAN access point 701a, the wireless LAN controller 702a requests the wireless LAN access point 701a for the device status by SNMP (S701a).

[0083] The wireless LAN access point 701a, which has received a device status request by SNMP, extracts information corresponding to the requested device status from the SNMP MIB information (memory 750a) managed by the wireless LAN access point 701a, and returns the information to the wireless LAN controller 702a (S702a). Here, the wireless LAN access point 701a has a memory 750a for managing the SNMP MIB information.

[0084] The wireless LAN access point 701a periodically inputs and outputs monitoring control information between the monitoring control unit and each block within the device itself, and continues to update the SNMP MIB information so that it is always the latest information. In this respect, the monitoring control unit 203 also periodically inputs and outputs monitoring control information between the wireless communication unit 201 and the main signal processing unit 202 in the wireless LAN access point 101a according to the present embodiment described above, and continues to update the SNMP MIB information so that it is always the latest information.

[0085] The wireless LAN controller 702a executes the above process for all the wireless LAN access points 701a, thereby monitoring all the wireless LAN access points 701a.

[0086] In the prior art, in order to detect abnormalities in the wireless LAN access point 701a in addition to checking whether the wireless LAN access point 701a is alive (ping), monitoring using SNMP, which can obtain more detailed device status, is also used.

[0087] By using SNMP to obtain the MIB that checks various status information defined for the device, hardware failures and traffic flow information can be monitored, so any hardware failure reflected in the MIB can be detected remotely.

[0088] However, it is difficult to detect hardware failures that are not reflected in the MIB. For example, if there is no main signal traffic at all flowing through the wireless LAN access point 101a, it is impossible to distinguish whether this is because the wireless LAN radio waves are not being transmitted due to a hardware failure, or whether the hardware is normal but there are simply no users.

[0089] In this way, the wireless LAN monitoring system 700a of the comparative example may not be able to detect a hardware failure.

[0090] In contrast, the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to the present embodiment described in Fig. 12 attaches or affixes a monitoring device 104a to the wireless LAN access point 101a and performs a live / dead check between the wireless LAN access point 101a and the monitoring device 104a by ping, so that it is possible to detect the above-mentioned failures based on the device status response including the result of the ping response. For example, if wireless LAN radio waves are not transmitted due to a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a, since there is no ping response from the monitoring device 104a, it can be determined that there is a possibility of a hardware failure. Note that, in a situation where the hardware is normal and there are simply no users, since there is a live / dead check response, it can be determined that the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a is normal.

[0091] In this way, the wireless LAN monitoring system 700a of the comparative example differs from the wireless LAN monitoring system 700a of the comparative example in that the device status including the result of alive check by ping is transmitted to the wireless LAN controller 102a. Note that the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a of the present embodiment described in Fig. 12 also performs processing for transmitting a request for the device status by SNMP and MIB information accumulated in the memory of the wireless LAN access point 101a to the wireless LAN access point 101a, as in the comparative example of Fig. 13.

[0092] Fig. 14 shows an example of a fault isolation process in the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a. This isolation process is executed by the wireless LAN controller 102a. The wireless LAN controller 102a according to this embodiment can also be realized by a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network. The same applies to the remote monitoring and controlling device 102 described in Fig. 1.

[0093] Fig. 14 shows the process when the wireless LAN access point 101a fails to check whether the monitoring device 104a is alive or dead through ping, that is, when there is no ping response from the monitoring device 104a. Note that a failure in the monitoring device 104a is also assumed here. Furthermore, it is assumed that the IP address of the monitoring device 104a is fixed and is not within the range of IP addresses that are assigned by the DHCP server of the wireless LAN access point 101a. Here, in Fig. 14, the wireless LAN access point 101a is abbreviated as AP, and the monitoring device 104a is abbreviated as MD.

[0094] In step S201, if there is no response to the ping sent to the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a, the wireless LAN controller 102a executes the processes in steps S202 and onward to determine whether a failure has occurred.

[0095] In step S202, the wireless LAN controller 102a checks the number of IP addresses that the DHCP server has assigned to terminals (wireless terminals such as smartphones) under the wireless LAN access point 101a that did not respond to the ping. If the number of IP addresses assigned by the DHCP server is 0, the process of step S204 is executed, and if the number is 1 or more, the process of step S203 is executed. If the number of IP addresses assigned by the DHCP server is 0, some kind of failure may have occurred in the wireless LAN access point 101a, or a failure (such as a malfunction) in the monitoring device 104a may be suspected.

[0096] In step S203, since the number of assigned IP addresses is 1 or more, the wireless LAN controller 102a knows that terminals other than the monitoring device 104a are normally assigned IP addresses from the wireless LAN access point 101a, and can determine that the wireless LAN access point 101a is operating normally. However, since there is no ping response from the monitoring device 104a, the wireless LAN controller 102a determines that there may be some kind of failure, including a breakdown in the monitoring device 104a.

[0097] In step S204, the wireless LAN controller 102a checks the association (link establishment information) of the wireless LAN access point 101a that did not respond to the ping, and confirms the number of associated (link established) addresses that have been successfully associated. Here, the wireless LAN access point 101a manages the MAC addresses of associated wireless LAN terminals. If the number of associated MAC addresses is 0, the process of step S205 is executed, and if it is 1 or more, the process of step S206 is executed.

[0098] In step S205, the wireless LAN controller 102a determines that there is a possibility of a failure in the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a. Specifically, the wireless LAN controller 102a determines that there is a possibility that the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a is not able to transmit or receive wireless LAN radio waves, and that a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit 201a is suspected.

[0099] In step S206, the wireless LAN controller 102a checks whether the associated MAC addresses include the MAC address of the monitoring device 104a. If the associated MAC addresses include the MAC address of the monitoring device 104a, the process of step S207 is executed, and if not, the process of step S208 is executed.

[0100] In step S207, the wireless LAN controller 102a determines that one of the following is true. Failure of monitoring device 104a -DHCP server function failure of wireless LAN access point 101a

[0101] In other words, if the wireless LAN access point 101a is associated but has not been assigned an IP address, has one or more associated MAC addresses, and the MAC address of the monitoring device 104a is included among them, it determines that there is a failure in the monitoring device 104a or a failure in the DHCP server function.

[0102] In step S208, the wireless LAN controller 102a determines that one of the following is true. Failure of monitoring device 104a -DHCP server function failure of wireless LAN access point 101a The wireless LAN access point 101a is working properly, but the encryption settings of the terminal may be incorrect (i.e., it is not a hardware failure, but a setting error or a data error due to noise, etc.)

[0103] Thus, in this embodiment, the wireless LAN access point 101a has the functionality of a DHCP server, and notifies the wireless LAN controller 102a of the results of a ping check of the monitoring device 104a attached or affixed to the wireless LAN access point 101a (whether or not there is a response), wireless LAN link establishment history information (number of associations) between the wireless LAN access point 101a and the monitoring device 104a, and IP address assignment history information (number of IP addresses) of the DHCP server.

[0104] The wireless LAN controller 102a can then isolate the location of the failure, including a hardware failure, in the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a, by combining the result of alive check notified from the wireless LAN access point 101a, the link establishment history information, and the IP address assignment history information. As a result, the wireless LAN monitoring system 100a according to this embodiment can detect failures, including hardware failures, in the wireless communication unit 301a of the wireless LAN access point 101a, which were difficult to detect with conventional technology.

[0105] (Other application examples) The wireless communication monitoring system 100 of this embodiment can be applied to mobile phone base station equipment where the number of terminals varies, and base station equipment in satellite communications, as examples of applications other than the wireless LAN system described in Figures 11 to 14.

[0106] As described above in the embodiment, the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the conventional monitoring method of the wireless communication device 701 in which the conventional remote monitoring control device 702 issues a device status request to the wireless communication device 701, adds or attaches a monitoring device 104 to the wireless communication device 101 and includes in the conventional device status response a result of alive confirmation from the wireless communication device 101 to the monitoring device 104. This makes it possible for the remote monitoring control device 102 to detect even the occurrence of a failure that does not appear in information obtained from a device status request, and can detect failures that were difficult to detect in the past.

[0107] In particular, when the wireless communication monitoring system 100 according to this embodiment is applied to a wireless LAN system, not only is the device status of the wireless LAN access point 101a acquired by SNMP, but also an alive check (ping) between the wireless LAN access point 101a and the monitoring device 104a is performed by radio waves of the wireless LAN. As a result, even if the device appears to be operating normally in the SNMP MIB, if the ping fails, the wireless LAN controller 102a can determine that there may be a failure, including a hardware failure, in the wireless communication unit 201a of the wireless LAN access point 101a.

[0108] As described above in each embodiment, the wireless communication monitoring system, wireless communication monitoring method, and monitoring device of the present invention can detect faults that cannot be detected from information obtained from a device status request to a conventional wireless communication device by adding or attaching a monitoring device to a wireless communication device and performing a status check between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 100,700···Wireless communication monitoring system; 100a,700a···Wireless LAN monitoring system; 101,701···Wireless communication device; 101a,701a···Wireless LAN access point; 102,702···Remote monitoring and control device; 102a,702a···Wireless LAN controller; 103,103a,703,703a···Network; 104,104a···Monitoring device; 201,201a···Wireless communication section; 202,202a···Main signal processing section; 203,203a···Monitoring and control section; 204···Signal distribution section; 301,301a···Wireless communication section; 302,302a···Signal processing section; 303,303a···Monitoring and control section; 304···Power generation section; 750a···Memory

Claims

1. A wireless communication monitoring system that monitors a hardware failure of a wireless communication unit of at least one wireless communication device by a remote monitoring and control device, the wireless communication device performs a live check to check the operation of a monitoring device attached or affixed to the wireless communication device by transmitting and receiving a predetermined wireless signal between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device; The remote monitoring and control device detects a failure including a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device based on a device status response of the wireless communication device including a result of the alive check received from the wireless communication device. A wireless communication monitoring system comprising:

2. 2. The wireless communication monitoring system according to claim 1, the wireless communication device corresponds to a wireless LAN access point having a DHCP server function, and notifies the remote monitoring and control device of the result of the alive confirmation by pinging the monitoring device, wireless LAN link establishment history information between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device, and IP address assignment history information of the DHCP server; The remote monitoring and control device corresponds to a wireless LAN controller that monitors and controls a wireless LAN system, and determines a fault including a hardware fault in the wireless communication unit of the wireless LAN access point by combining the result of the alive check with the monitoring device notified from the wireless LAN access point, the link establishment history information, and the IP address assignment history information. A wireless communication monitoring system comprising:

3. 3. The wireless communication monitoring system according to claim 2, If there is no response to the ping from the monitoring device, the remote monitoring control device determines the location of the failure based on the number of IP addresses assigned by the DHCP server, the number of MAC addresses with which links have been established, and whether or not the MAC address of the monitoring device is included in the MAC addresses with which links have been established; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is one or more, the wireless LAN access point is determined to be normal; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is 0 and the number of MAC addresses with established links is 0, it is determined that a failure has occurred in the wireless communication unit of the wireless LAN access point; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is 0, the number of MAC addresses with established links is 0, and the MAC address of the monitoring device is included in the MAC addresses with established links, it is determined that a fault has occurred in the DHCP server of the wireless LAN access point or in the monitoring device; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is 0, the number of MAC addresses with established links is 0, and the MAC address of the monitoring device is not included in the MAC addresses with established links, it is determined that there is a fault in the DHCP server of the wireless LAN access point, the monitoring device, or the encryption setting of a terminal connected to the wireless LAN access point. A wireless communication monitoring system comprising:

4. A wireless communication monitoring method for monitoring a hardware failure of a wireless communication unit of at least one wireless communication device by a remote monitoring and control device, comprising: the wireless communication device performs a live check to check the operation of a monitoring device attached or affixed to the wireless communication device by transmitting and receiving a predetermined wireless signal between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device; The remote monitoring and control device detects a failure including a hardware failure of the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication device based on a device status response of the wireless communication device including a result of the alive check received from the wireless communication device. A wireless communication monitoring method comprising:

5. 5. The method for monitoring wireless communications according to claim 4, the wireless communication device corresponds to a wireless LAN access point having a DHCP server function, and notifies the remote monitoring and control device of the result of the alive confirmation by pinging the monitoring device, wireless LAN link establishment history information between the wireless communication device and the monitoring device, and IP address assignment history information of the DHCP server; The remote monitoring and control device corresponds to a wireless LAN controller that monitors and controls a wireless LAN system, and determines a fault including a hardware fault in the wireless communication unit of the wireless LAN access point by combining the result of the alive check with the monitoring device notified from the wireless LAN access point, the link establishment history information, and the IP address assignment history information. A wireless communication monitoring method comprising:

6. 6. The wireless communication monitoring method according to claim 5, If there is no response to the ping from the monitoring device, the remote monitoring control device determines the location of the failure based on the number of IP addresses assigned by the DHCP server, the number of MAC addresses with which links have been established, and whether or not the MAC address of the monitoring device is included in the MAC addresses with which links have been established; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is one or more, the wireless LAN access point is determined to be normal; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is 0 and the number of MAC addresses with established links is 0, it is determined that a failure has occurred in the wireless communication unit of the wireless LAN access point; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is 0, the number of MAC addresses with established links is 0, and the MAC address of the monitoring device is included in the MAC addresses with established links, it is determined that a fault has occurred in the DHCP server of the wireless LAN access point or in the monitoring device; If the number of IP addresses issued by the DHCP server is 0, the number of MAC addresses with established links is 0, and the MAC address of the monitoring device is not included in the MAC addresses with established links, it is determined that there is a fault in the DHCP server of the wireless LAN access point, the monitoring device, or the encryption setting of a terminal connected to the wireless LAN access point. A wireless communication monitoring method comprising:

7. a power generation unit that is attached or affixed to a wireless communication device and generates power required for operation using radio waves emitted from the wireless communication device; a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device; a monitoring control unit that returns a response signal when a predetermined alive confirmation signal for confirming the presence or absence of an operation is received from the wireless communication device via the wireless communication unit; A monitoring device comprising:

8. 8. The monitoring device according to claim 7, The monitoring control unit establishes a wireless LAN link with the wireless LAN access point using a fixed IP address that is determined in advance from the wireless LAN access point, and returns a response signal when a ping signal is received from the wireless LAN access point. A monitoring device comprising:

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