Network management device, method, and program

Abstract

A network management device according to an embodiment comprises: a storage device which stores information indicating the connection relationship between a plurality of communication devices and communication paths in a network configuration; and a determination unit which, when one of the plurality of communication devices is no longer supplied with electric power from a main power source and the communication device cannot be supplied with electric power from an auxiliary power source either, determines that a failure has occurred in the communication device and determines the communication devices impacted by the failure that has occurred as a fault impacted range, on the basis of information stored in the storage device.

Description

Technical Field

[0004] , , , , , ,

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a network management apparatus, method, and program.

Background Art

[0002] When maintaining and displaying the configurations of the physical layer and logical layer of a network (NW) realized by a plurality of NW devices, a technique for displaying in a common manner regardless of changes in the type and protocol of the NW devices is used (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). There is a technique (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2) for identifying the range of influence of an NW service related to a failure location and grasping the affected users affected by the failure in a common manner regardless of the types of the physical layer and logical layer.

[0003] For example, in the method of determining the impact on a service according to the prior art, devices connected to both ends of a network connection (NC) affected by a failure are uniformly determined as affected devices. NC indicates the end-to-end connectivity between two devices.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

[0005] If the main power supply (sometimes simply referred to as the main power supply) located within the building in which the above-mentioned network equipment is housed fails, for example due to a disaster, a power outage (sometimes referred to as a power outage failure) may occur for the network equipment or the entire building, that is, a failure in which the operation of electrical equipment within the building stops.

[0006] On the other hand, many buildings have backup power supplies (sometimes simply called backup power supplies), such as energy storage devices. When the main power supply in a building fails, the backup power supply in the same building activates, temporarily averting the aforementioned power outage. In many cases, the aforementioned power outage only occurs when the main power supply is not restored and the backup power supply is depleted, that is, when the power stored in the energy storage device is exhausted. Therefore, there is a certain amount of time leeway between a failure in the building's main power supply and the resulting power outage affecting the entire building.

[0007] On the other hand, the technologies disclosed in Non-Patent Documents 1 or 2 above do not take into account the operation of backup power supplies maintained within the building, and therefore, equipment within the building whose main power supply has failed, the NC connected to this equipment, and other equipment connected via this NC are uniformly determined to be affected equipment.

[0008] However, in reality, as long as the backup power supply within the building is operational, the aforementioned power outage will be avoided, and therefore, the network equipment in the building where the main power supply has failed will not necessarily be affected.

[0009] This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a network management device, method, and program that can appropriately determine the impact of a malfunction that occurs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A network management device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage device that stores information indicating the connection relationships between multiple communication devices and communication paths in a network configuration, and a main power supply Device Due to a failure of the main power supply, one of the multiple communication devices fails. Device Power is no longer supplied from the main power source, and the communication device is not powered by the backup power supply. Time has passed until the supplied electricity is depleted. A determination unit determines that a failure has occurred in the communication device at times, and based on the information stored in the storage device, determines the communication devices affected by the failure as the scope of the failure. 、 It is equipped with.

[0011] A network management method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method performed by a network management device having a storage device that stores information indicating the connection relationship between a plurality of communication devices and a communication path in a network configuration, wherein the determination unit of the network management device is the main power Device Due to a failure of the main power supply, one of the multiple communication devices fails. Device Power is no longer supplied from the main power source, and the communication device is not powered by the backup power supply. Time has passed until the supplied electricity is depleted. The system determines that a failure has occurred in the communication device, and based on the information stored in the storage device, it determines the communication devices affected by the failure as being within the scope of the failure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the influence caused by a failure occurring in a network.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of a network management apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the definition of network facility information in tabular form. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing operation by a network management apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the connection relationship of devices and communication paths. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of ladder information in each device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an influence path. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a device affected by a failure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a determination result of the influence caused by a failure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an application example of a network management apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing operation by a failure propagation determination unit of a network management apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the connection relationship of devices and communication paths. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a device affected by a failure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a communication path affected by the propagation of the influence caused by a failure. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a device affected by a failure. [Figure 15]Figure 15 shows an example of the results of the assessment of the impact associated with the failure. [Figure 16] Figure 16 shows an example of the application of a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of processing operation by a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] Figure 18 illustrates a typical deployment of power supply vehicles in the event of a main power supply failure. [Figure 19] Figure 19 illustrates the deployment of a power supply vehicle when a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention is applied and the main power supply fails. [Figure 20] Figure 20 illustrates an example of a screen display related to the effects of a main power supply failure. [Figure 21] Figure 21 illustrates an example of a screen display showing the effects of a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention when the main power supply fails. [Figure 22] Figure 22 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a network management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of this invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this first embodiment, when a failure occurring at the physical layer of the network is a power outage in a building that houses network equipment, it is assumed that a power outage failure has occurred when the main power supply in the building fails, without considering the operation of the backup power supply. Figure 1 shows an example of the application of a network management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the network management device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a fault impact determination processing unit 10, a Spec (Specification) DB (database) 20, and an Entity DB 30. The fault impact determination processing unit 10 includes an impact path calculation processing unit 11 and a device fault determination processing unit 12. The device fault determination processing unit 12 includes an impact path acquisition processing unit 12a, a device information acquisition processing unit 12b, and a device tier determination processing unit 12c.

[0015] The Spec DB20 stores network equipment information (Spec(Specification)). Entity DB30 stores network equipment information (Entity). This equipment information defines (1) the relationships between objects at the physical layer, (2) the relationships between objects at the logical layer, and (3) the relationships between objects at the physical layer and objects at the logical layer.

[0016] The physical layer configuration can consist of entities (information objects) comprising PS (Physical Structure), PD (Physical Device), PP (Physical Port), AS (Aggregate Section), PL (Physical Link), and PC (Physical Connector). The logical layer configuration can consist of entities comprising TL (Topological Link), NFD (Network Forwarding Domain), TPE (Termination Point Encapsulation), NC (Network Connection), LC (Link Connect), and XC (Cross(X) Connect). This configuration allows for the maintenance of a unified format for both the physical and logical layers.

[0017] Entity names in the physical layer can be categorized as PS, PD, PP, AS, PL, and PC. The "Entity Name: Meaning: Correspondence" for each entity name is as follows: • PS: Containment buildings, manholes, and other facilities: Device objects • PD: Device: Device Object • PP: Communication port of a device: Port object • AS: Cable: Media object • PL: Cable core: Medium object • PC: Cable connector: Media object

[0018] Entity names in the logical layer can be categorized into the above TL, NFD, TPE, NC, LC, and XC. The "Entity Name: Meaning: Correspondence" for each entity name is as follows. • TL: Inter-device connectivity (within the Logical Device layer (sometimes called the LD layer)): Line object • NFD: Transferable range within the device (within the Logical Device layer): Line or surface object • TPE: Communication endpoint: Point object • NC: End-to-end connectivity (within the communication layer) formed by LC (Link Connect) and XC (Cross(X) Connect): Communication object • LC: Inter-device connectivity (within the communication layer): Line or surface object • XC: In-device connectivity (within the communication layer): Line or surface object

[0019] Next, we will explain the Spec (physical layer) of equipment information. In the physical layer, unique information such as the device name or cable type is stored in Spec DB20 as information instantiated by Spec classes (classes) (where attributes indicating characteristics are defined). Specifically, the following Spec classes are defined.

[0020] The "Spec name:meaning" format for the Spec class in the physical layer is as follows: • PS Spec (Physical Structure Specification): Defines attributes unique to each PS. • PD Spec (Physical Device Specification): Defines unique attributes for each PD. • PP Spec (Physical Port Specification): Defines unique attributes for each PP. • AS Spec (Aggregate Section Specification): Defines attributes unique to each AS. • PL Spec (Physical Link Specification): Defines unique attributes for each PL. • PC Spec (Physical Connector Specification): Defines unique attributes for each PC.

[0021] Next, I will explain the Spec (logical layer) of the equipment information. In the logical layer, attributes unique to each layer (VLANID, IP address, wavelength number, etc.) are stored in Spec DB20 as information instantiated by each Spec class. Specifically, the following Spec classes are defined.

[0022] The "Spec name:meaning" format for Spec classes in the logical layer is as follows: • TL Spec (Topological Link Specification): Defines unique attributes for each Topological Link (TL). • NFD Spec (Network Forwarding Domain Specification): Defines attributes unique to each NFD. • TPE Spec (Termination Point Encapsulation Specification): Defines attributes unique to each TPE. • NC Spec (Network Connection Specification): Defines unique attributes for each NC. • LC Spec (Link Connect Specification): Defines unique attributes for each Link Connect (LC). • XC Spec (Cross(X) Connect Specification): Defines unique attributes for each XC. Furthermore, attributes common to the layers and their values ​​are stored in Entity DB30, based on the information obtained when the Entity class was instantiated.

[0023] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a definition of network equipment information in tabular format. The item names and values ​​of the equipment information stored in Spec DB20 are defined as shown in Figure 2. In the example shown in Figure 2, an attribute is defined that represents the hierarchy information (skuNumber) of multiple devices (PDs) on the same communication path. This device hierarchy information can be arbitrarily assigned and modified by the user.

[0024] In the hierarchy information, devices with smaller numerical values ​​are defined as higher-level devices (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "higher-level devices"), and devices with larger numerical values ​​are defined as lower-level devices (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "lower-level devices"). In other words, the network equipment information in this embodiment includes hierarchy information for multiple communication devices that can communicate via a communication path.

[0025] In this embodiment, the hierarchy information of the devices is taken into consideration, and a logic is implemented uniformly, regardless of the service and network configuration, that among the devices corresponding to both ends of the NC, only the lower-level device is affected by a failure, while the higher-level device is not.

[0026] This allows for a more accurate calculation of the impact of a failure in a configuration where the devices corresponding to both ends of the NC have a superior-subordinate relationship. This reduces the workload involved in assessing the impact during monitoring and maintenance operations, and also enables faster recovery in the event of a disaster.

[0027] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing operation by a network management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Prior to the process shown in Figure 3, the impact path calculation processing unit 11 of the failure impact determination processing unit 10 calculates the objects in the logical layer that correspond to the objects related to the failure location in the physical layer, based on the equipment information stored in the Entity DB 30, as the basic paths affected by the failure. Here, when a failure (malfunction) occurs in one device in the physical layer, multiple NCs corresponding to this device in the logical layer are calculated as the basic paths affected by the failure. Hereafter, it will be explained that a device and the NCs corresponding to this device in the logical layer have a connection relationship.

[0028] Next, the following S11 is executed as the process for acquiring affected paths. The affected path acquisition processing unit 12a acquires a list of the basic paths affected by the failure, calculated above, as an array from the network equipment information (S11).

[0029] Next, the following S21 and S22 are executed as the device acquisition process. If there are any unprocessed elements among the NCs, which are elements of the array acquired in S11, for subsequent processing (Yes in S21), the device information acquisition processing unit 12b acquires the information of the device connected to one end of the basic path, which is one of the unprocessed elements, from the network equipment information as the starting device, and acquires the information of the device connected to the other end of the basic path from the network equipment information as the ending device (S22).

[0030] Next, the following steps S31 to S35 are executed as part of the device tier determination process. The device tier determination processing unit 12c obtains the tier information of the starting device and the tier information of the ending device, as indicated by the information obtained in S22, from the network equipment information (S31).

[0031] If the value of the step information of the starting device is equal to or greater than the value of the step information of the ending device (Yes in S32), the device step determination processing unit 12c determines that the starting device indicated by the information obtained in S22 is a device affected by the occurrence of a failure (S33).

[0032] If the answer in S32 is No, or if, after S33, the value of the tier information of the endpoint device is greater than or equal to the value of the tier information of the starting device (Yes in S34), the device tier determination processing unit 12c determines that the endpoint device indicated by the information obtained in S22 is a device affected by the occurrence of a failure (S35).

[0033] If the result in S34 is No, or after S35, the process returns to S21. Then, if there are any other unprocessed elements from S22 onwards, the processing for these elements, NC, is performed from S22 onwards. When the result in S21 is No, that is, when the processing from S22 onwards has been performed on all elements of the array obtained in S11, the series of processes ends.

[0034] Next, we will explain an example of processing for a specific configuration. Figure 4 shows an example of the connection relationship between the device and the communication path. Here, as shown in Figure 4, we assume that device A is housed in building "Building A", device B is housed in building "Building B", device C is housed in building "Building C", and device D is housed in building "Building D". Let's assume that one end of logical layer object NC1 is connected to device A, the other end of object NC1 is connected to device B, one end of logical layer object NC2 is connected to device B, the other end of object NC2 is connected to device C, one end of logical layer object NC3 is connected to device C, and the other end of object NC3 is connected to device D.

[0035] Figure 5 shows an example of hierarchical information for each device. As shown in Figure 5, the values ​​of the hierarchical information for each device in the above configuration are defined as follows. ·Device A: 10 ·Device B:20 ·Device C:30 ·Device D:40 In other words, this hierarchy information indicates that device A is the highest-level device, device B is a higher-level device, device C is a middle-level device, and device D is the lowest-level device.

[0036] In step S11, the process of obtaining affected paths due to the failure of device B is performed, and the affected paths, which are a list of basic paths affected by the failure, are obtained as an array as follows. Affected paths: NC2, NC1

[0037] Figure 6 shows an example of an affected path. In Figure 6, device B, shown in bold, corresponds to the device where the failure occurred, and NC1 and NC2, shown by thick lines, correspond to the affected paths. As S22, the start and end devices for the first influencing path NC2 are acquired as follows. Starting device: Device B Terminal device: Device C

[0038] In S31, the values ​​of the starting device's stair information and the ending device's stair information are obtained as follows. Starting point device: Device B (Stair information: 20) End point device: Device C (Stair information: 30)

[0039] Since the step information value "20" for device B, which is the starting device, is not greater than or equal to the step information value "30" for device C, which is the ending device (No. in S32), we proceed to S34.

[0040] The step information value "30" for device C, which is the terminal device, is greater than or equal to the step information value "20" for device B, which is the starting device (Yes in S34). Therefore, in S35, device C, which is the terminal device, is determined to be a device affected by the malfunction. Figure 7 shows an example of a device affected by a malfunction. Device C, shown in bold in Figure 7, corresponds to a device affected by a malfunction. The remaining NC, NC1, acquired in S11, will also be processed from S22 onwards. As a result of this process, device B connected to NC1 is determined to be a device affected by the malfunction.

[0041] Since device B is the device where the failure occurred, device C, which was determined to be affected, is the final determination of which devices are affected by the failure in device B. Furthermore, devices A and D are determined to be unaffected by the failure.

[0042] In other words, the locations of the failures in devices A, B, C, and D, and the presence or absence of the resulting impacts, are as follows. Device A: No impact due to malfunction Device B: Failure occurred Device C: Impact due to malfunction Device D: No impact due to malfunction Figure 8 shows an example of the results of the assessment of the effects associated with the failure. As shown in Figure 8, it is determined whether or not there were any effects associated with the above-mentioned failure in devices A, B, C, and D.

[0043] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. In this second embodiment, the above hindrance This explanation assumes that the main power supply within the building is faulty, and that the operation of the backup power supply in response to this fault is not considered. Detailed explanations of parts of this embodiment that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted. Figure 9 shows an example of the application of a network management device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 9, the network management device 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, compared to the configuration described in the first embodiment, further includes a fault propagation determination processing unit 12d in the device fault determination processing unit 12 of the fault impact determination processing unit 10.

[0044] In the second embodiment, the hierarchy information of the devices is taken into consideration, and a logic is implemented that uniformly determines, regardless of the service and network configuration, that when a lower-level or equivalent device is connected to a device that was determined to be affected by a failure in the first embodiment, this connected device is also affected by the failure.

[0045] This allows for a more accurate determination of the impact of a failure in a configuration where other devices are connected to the devices at both ends of the NC (Numerical Control) that constitute the impact path, further reducing the workload involved in impact assessment during monitoring and maintenance operations.

[0046] In the second embodiment, a logic is implemented in which the effects of a failure in a higher-level device are transmitted to lower-level devices, making it possible to determine that even devices not directly connected to the failed device are affected by the failure.

[0047] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation by the fault propagation determination unit of the network management device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. After the processing shown in the first embodiment, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d obtains information from the network equipment information about the device that has experienced a fault and the devices that have been determined to be affected by the fault (S41). If there are any unprocessed elements in the array of devices shown in the acquired information (Yes in S42), the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information about the NC connected to each device corresponding to that element from the network equipment information in an array (S43).

[0048] If any NC elements in the array indicated by the information obtained in S43 remain unprocessed in subsequent processing (Yes in S44), then any NC elements indicated by the information obtained in S43 that have already been processed once in S47 or later are excluded from subsequent processing (S45 → S46), and the process returns to S45.

[0049] For NCs other than those processed as described above, among those indicated by the information acquired in S43, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information about the opposing device connected to each NC (S47). This opposing device is the device that is connected to the other end of the NC when one end of the NC indicated by the information acquired in S43 is connected to the device indicated by the information acquired in S41.

[0050] The fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires the hierarchy information of both devices, i.e., the device indicated by the information acquired in S41, and the hierarchy information of the opposing device to this device. If there is an NC to which these devices are connected when the affected device is higher in rank (including the same rank) than the opposing device, the unit selects this NC from the NCs indicated by the information acquired in S43 and stores the information indicating this NC in the internal memory (S48). If there is an NC held in S48 (Yes in S49), the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d determines that the NC held in S48 is an NC that has been affected by the fault (S50).

[0051] Then, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d newly determines that the opposing device connected to this NC is a device affected by the fault (S51). The fault propagation determination processing unit 12d sets the devices that it determined to be affected in S51 as targets for processing from S43 onwards (S52), and returns to S43. Processing from S43 onwards is then performed on these designated devices.

[0052] Next, we will explain an example of processing for a specific configuration. Figure 11 shows an example of the connection relationship between the device and the communication path. As shown in Figure 11, in the second embodiment, in addition to the devices A to D described in the first embodiment, a device E is provided which is housed in the building "Building E". Furthermore, assuming that the above-mentioned devices A, NC1, B, NC2, C, NC3, and D are connected as described in the first embodiment, one end of the logical layer object NC4 is connected to device D, and device E is connected to the other end of this object NC4. Furthermore, the values ​​of the hierarchical information for devices A to D are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and the value of the hierarchical information for device E is 40, the same as the value of the hierarchical information for device D.

[0053] In this configuration, the location of the failure in devices A, B, C, D, and E and the presence or absence of effects associated with the failure are determined as follows by the processes described in the first embodiment. Device A: No impact due to malfunction Device B: Failure occurred Device C: Impact due to malfunction Devices D and E: No impact due to malfunction.

[0054] Figure 12 shows an example of a device affected by a failure. Device B, shown in bold in Figure 12, corresponds to the device that experienced the failure, and device C, also shown in bold in Figure 12, corresponds to the device that was determined to be affected by the failure in the first embodiment.

[0055] In S41, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information about the device where the fault occurred and information about the devices that were determined to be affected by the fault, as follows: Device that experienced the malfunction: Device B Device affected by the malfunction: Device C

[0056] In S43, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information indicating the NC connected to each device indicated by the information acquired above. Here, we will explain the process related to device C as an example. In S43, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information indicating NC2 and NC3, which are NCs connected to device C, as shown by the information acquired in S41.

[0057] In S47, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information indicating device B, which is the opposing device via NC2 as seen from device C, which is the first device indicated by the information acquired in S41, and is indicated by the information acquired in S43.

[0058] Also in S47, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information indicating device D, which is the opposing device via NC3 as seen from device C, which is the second device indicated by the information acquired in S41.

[0059] In S48, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d compares the value 30 of the tier information of device C, which is shown in the information acquired in S41, with the value 20 of the tier information of the opposing device B via NC2, which is shown in the information acquired in S43, as seen from device C. Since device C, which is affected by the fault, is at a lower tier than the opposing device B, the information indicating NC2 is not retained in S48.

[0060] On the other hand, when the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d compares the value 30 of the tier information of device C, which is shown in the information acquired in S41, with the value 40 of the tier information of the opposing device D via NC3, which is shown in the information acquired in S43, as seen from device C, device C, which is affected by the fault, is at a higher tier than the opposing device D, the information indicating NC3 is retained in S48.

[0061] In S50, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d determines that NC3, indicated by the information held in S48, is an NC affected by the fault. Figure 13 shows an example of a communication path affected by a fault. In Figure 13, NC3, which is an NC affected by a fault, is shown with a thick line.

[0062] In S51, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d determines that device D, which is the opposite device via NC3 as indicated by the information held in S48, as seen from device C as indicated by the information acquired in S41, is a device affected by the fault. Figure 14 shows an example of a device affected by the fault. In Figure 14, device D affected by the fault is shown in bold. In S52, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d sets device D, which was determined to be affected by the fault in S48, as the target of processing from S43 onward.

[0063] With this setting, in S43, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information indicating NC3 and NC4 connected to device D, as set in S48.

[0064] In the determination in S45, the first NC, NC3, indicated by the information acquired in S43, is an NC that has undergone processing from S47 onwards, and is therefore excluded from subsequent processing. On the other hand, the second NC, NC4, indicated by the information acquired in S43, is not an NC that has undergone processing from S47 onwards. Therefore, in S47, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d acquires information indicating the opposing device E via NC4, as seen from device D, which was set in S52.

[0065] The value 40 of the level information for device D set in S52 is the same as the value 40 of the level information for the opposing device E, which is accessed via NC4 as seen from device D in S43. In other words, since device D is at the same level as the opposing device E, in S48 the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d holds the information indicating the above NC4.

[0066] In S50, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d determines that NC4, indicated by the information held in S48, is a device affected by the fault. In S51, the fault propagation determination processing unit 12d determines that the device E on the other side of the network, as seen from device D as set in S52, via NC4 as indicated by the information held in S48, is a device affected by the occurrence of the fault.

[0067] Furthermore, the processing from S42 onwards is performed on all other devices acquired in S41, including device B in this case, resulting in the following final determination of the impact of the failure. Figure 15 shows an example of the determination of the impact of the failure. In the determination results shown in Figure 15, devices D and E are determined to be affected by the failure, which is different from when each process described in the first embodiment was performed. In other words, compared to the first embodiment, the propagation of the impact to lower-level devices is determined. Device A: No impact due to malfunction Device B: Failure occurred Devices C, D, and E: May be affected by malfunctions.

[0068] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described. Detailed explanations of parts of this embodiment that overlap with the second embodiment will be omitted. Figure 16 shows an example of the application of a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 16, the network management device 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, compared to the configuration described in the second embodiment, further includes a backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e and a display processing unit 12f in the device failure determination processing unit 12 of the failure impact determination processing unit 10.

[0069] In this third embodiment, in the first and second embodiments, when a failure occurring at the physical layer is due to a power outage caused by a failure of the main power supply housed in the building where the network device is housed, such as damage to the building, the operation of a backup power supply housed in the same building is taken into consideration. With this consideration, in the third embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not a power outage failure related to the building has occurred as time has elapsed from the time the main power supply fails until the time when the power from the backup power supply is depleted (sometimes referred to as the depletion of the backup power supply).

[0070] In typical disaster-related service impact simulations, "power outage" is one of the user-specifiable failure scenarios. For example, a simulation of an immediate power outage occurring when the main power supply in a building fails is performed, and only the impact at a fixed point in time is calculated.

[0071] However, in reality, the backup power supply within the building can activate, ensuring power for a certain period of time. Therefore, the opportunities for the aforementioned power outage to occur immediately are limited, and this scenario deviates from the actual situation.

[0072] Thus, conventional simulations do not take into account the operation of backup power supplies for each building. Therefore, when planning the deployment of power supply vehicles to restore power to buildings, a separate manual review that takes backup power supplies into consideration is necessary.

[0073] Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, in addition to information about the building where a failure has occurred in which the main power supply has failed, the time it takes for the power from the backup power supply within the building where the main power supply has failed to be depleted is used as new information. This depletion time is a predicted or designed value of the time from the timing when the backup power supply starts operating until the power that can be supplied from the backup power supply to the equipment in the building is depleted while the main power supply has not been restored. The power that can be supplied to the building's equipment from the backup power supply is, for example, the power stored in the energy storage device of the backup power supply.

[0074] This allows the simulation described above to track the status of a building's failure over time, assuming that the building's main power supply fails due to a disaster or other reason. The system then maintains the status of the building's equipment in a normal state until the depletion time from the backup power supply is reached, and then transitions the building's status to a failure state once the depletion time has elapsed.

[0075] In this embodiment, it is assumed that immediately after a failure in the building's main power supply, the operating power supply switches to the backup power supply. This consideration enables a simulation in this embodiment in which the failure situation changes over time, such as when the backup power supply for each building is depleted, and the failure and its effects spread, thus creating a simulation that is closer to the actual failure situation and leads to an improvement in the accuracy of understanding the impact during a disaster.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the ripple effect of a power outage due to the depletion of backup power supplies in each building is determined using the configuration described in the first and second embodiments above. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the above simulation results when considering which buildings should be prioritized for restoration work in the plan for deploying power supply vehicles to buildings.

[0077] Conventional simulations only considered the failure situation at a fixed point immediately after the failure occurred, in order to assess the impact of the failure. In contrast, in this embodiment, the time it takes for the backup power supply within the building to be depleted is newly used in the simulation, so the time during which the backup power supply operates in place of the main power supply within the building is taken into consideration, making it possible to assess the impact over time.

[0078] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the input operations in the above simulation can be performed using the time axis as a variable, it becomes possible to grasp the extent of the damage caused by the disaster even in any time unit specified by the user.

[0079] Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of processing operation by a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. First, the backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e receives input of fault building information that identifies each of the at least one building, in this case multiple buildings, where the failed main power supply is housed (S101). This fault building information corresponds to the building where the failed main power supply is housed among the PSs where each object indicated in the equipment information stored in the Entity DB 30 is housed. This fault building information may be received through an input operation by an operator, or it may be information generated when the failure of the main power supply is detected by a detection device (not shown).

[0080] The backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e receives input for the backup power depletion time, which is the time during which the backup power supply housed in the building indicated by the faulty building information received in S101 is operational, that is, the time until the power that can be supplied by the backup power supply is depleted while the main power supply is not restored (S102). This backup power depletion time may be pre-associated with the equipment information stored in the Entity DB 30 and stored in the Entity DB 30.

[0081] The backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e accepts input for the start and end times of an impact simulation, which is a simulation of the impact on the operation of equipment, i.e., communication devices, due to the operation and depletion of the backup power supply, assuming that a failure of the main power supply has occurred (S103).

[0082] Next, the influence calculation process from S104 to S109 below will be explained. First, the backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e determines whether or not there are any buildings among those indicated by the fault building information received in S101 that will run out of backup power between the start time and the end time received in S103 (S104).

[0083] In this embodiment, status information indicating whether or not there is a power outage in each building is pre-associated with equipment information stored in, for example, Entity DB30 and stored in Entity DB30. Initially, the status is set to "normal".

[0084] If the result in S104 is Yes, the backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e changes the status of the building in question, i.e., the building whose backup power has been depleted, to "Power Out" (S105).

[0085] After S105, or if No is determined in S104, the backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e determines whether there is a building among the buildings indicated by the fault building information received in S101 that has not had its backup power depleted between the start time and end time received in S103, but is nearing depletion, in this case, a building where the remaining time until the predicted depletion of backup power is less than or equal to a predetermined time (S106).

[0086] In this embodiment, a background color corresponding to the status of each building is displayed on a display device (not shown). For example, the background color in the initial state when the remaining time exceeds the predetermined time is colorless, and when the remaining time falls below the predetermined time, in this case the background color is red when depletion is approaching. If the result in S106 is Yes, the backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e changes the background color set for the relevant building to red (S107).

[0087] If the result is No after S107, or if it is determined to be No in S106, the display processing unit 12f displays the simulation results of the power outage failure of a building and the impact of the power outage failure on other buildings on the display device screen, based on the status and background color set for each building (S108). The display of these simulation results will be described later.

[0088] The backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e changes the current time set in the above simulation to a time advanced by a predetermined amount of time (S109).

[0089] The backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e determines whether the current time, which was changed in S109, has reached the end time set in S103 (S110).

[0090] If the current time set above has not reached the end time set in S103 (No in S110), the process returns to S104. On the other hand, if the current time set above has reached the end time set in S103 (Yes in S110), the series of processes by the backup power depletion determination processing unit 12e is terminated.

[0091] Figure 18 illustrates a typical deployment of power supply vehicles in the event of a main power supply failure. In the example shown in Figure 18, both the main power supply in building a1 and the main power supply in building a2 fail, and this failure is considered to cause a power outage in each building, resulting in a service impact on the operation of equipment within those buildings. Figure 18 shows equipment within the building that is operating normally (symbol b) and equipment that is experiencing service impact (symbol y (small impact), symbol r (large impact)). The degree of impact varies depending on, for example, the importance of the service provided by the equipment in question, or the number of users who utilize it.

[0092] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 18, when a power outage occurs in both building a1 and building a2, the impact on the operation of the equipment in building a2 is relatively greater than the impact on the operation of the equipment in building a1. For this reason, Figure 18 shows that the power supply vehicle c for restoring power to the buildings is deployed to building a2 with priority over building a1 (indicated by p).

[0093] When the example shown in Figure 18 is displayed on the screen, it represents the result of assuming that all equipment in a building immediately lost power when the building's main power supply failed. Therefore, when multiple buildings are affected and the main power supply fails, in reality, the disruption impact on buildings that have not yet experienced service disruptions due to the operation of backup power supplies may appear higher than the disruption impact on buildings that are experiencing service disruptions due to the depletion of power from backup supplies. Therefore, there is a possibility that the deployment plan for power supply vehicles may be formulated based on priorities that do not reflect the actual situation.

[0094] Figure 19 illustrates the deployment of a power supply vehicle when a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention is applied and the main power supply fails. In the example shown in Figure 19, both the main power supply in building a1 and the main power supply in building a2 fail. This failure causes the backup power supplies in each building to start operating, and it is shown that, for example, several hours after the main power supply failure, the backup power supply in building a1 is depleted at a faster rate than the backup power supply in building a2. Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 19, it is assumed that a power outage occurred in building a1 at the point of depletion, affecting the operation of the equipment within that building. However, at this point, the backup power supply housed in building a2 is not depleted and continues to operate, indicating that no power outage occurred in building a2.

[0095] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 19, since there is an impact on the operation of the equipment inside building a1 between building a1 and building a2, the power supply vehicle C for restoring power to the building is deployed to building a1 (indicated by P) with priority over building a2.

[0096] When the example shown in Figure 19 is displayed on the screen, the operation of the building's backup power supply is taken into consideration, making it possible to display simulation results that are closer to reality. This allows for prioritizing the restoration of power to buildings whose backup power supplies have already been depleted, using power generator vehicles.

[0097] Figure 20 illustrates an example of a screen display related to the effects of a main power supply failure. Screen G1 shown in Figure 20 is a simulation display screen when the third embodiment of the present invention is not applied, and it shows that when the main power supply housed in building a fails, for example, when "power out" is set, this failure is considered to have caused a power outage for the building, and the operation of the equipment inside the building is affected.

[0098] On screen G1, when a failure in the building's main power supply is set, the simulation results immediately display the outcome of a complete failure of all power supply equipment in the building, without considering the operation of the building's backup power supply.

[0099] Figure 21 illustrates an example of a screen display showing the effects of a network management device according to a third embodiment of the present invention when the main power supply fails. Screens G2 and G3 shown in Figure 21 are simulation screens displayed by the display processing unit 12f when the third embodiment of the present invention is applied. Screen G2 shows that the time from when the building's backup power supply starts operating until it is depleted is set in advance, and when a failure of the building's main power supply due to a disaster is set, the backup power supply starts operating in conjunction with this failure, so a power outage failure does not occur.

[0100] Furthermore, on screen G2, as shown in S109 above, if it is determined in S106 that the backup power supply that has started operation is about to be depleted as the current time in the simulation has progressed, the background color (code bg) of the corresponding building on the screen will change as explained in S107 above.

[0101] Furthermore, screen G3 shown in Figure 21 displays screen G2, and as the current time in the simulation progresses further, it indicates that the backup power supply that was started up is depleted, resulting in a power outage in the building, which in turn affects the operation of the equipment within the building.

[0102] As described above, in the third embodiment of the present invention, when power is no longer supplied from the main power supply to any of the multiple communication devices in the network configuration, and power can no longer be supplied from the backup power supply to the said communication device, it is determined that a failure has occurred in the communication device, and based on information stored in the storage device that indicates the connection relationship between the multiple communication devices and the communication path, the communication devices affected by the failure are determined as the scope of the failure. Therefore, by considering that the operation of the backup power supply provides a time leeway before a failure occurs in the communication equipment, the impact of the failure can be appropriately assessed.

[0103] Figure 22 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a network management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown in Figure 22, the network management device 100 according to the above embodiment is composed of, for example, a server computer or a personal computer, and has a hardware processor 111A such as a CPU. A program memory 111B, a data memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and a communication interface 114 are connected to this hardware processor 111A via a bus 120.

[0104] The communication interface 114 includes, for example, one or more wireless communication interface units, enabling the transmission and reception of information with the communication network NW. As the wireless interface, for example, an interface employing a low-power wireless data communication standard such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) is used.

[0105] The input / output interface 113 is connected to an operator input device 50 and an output device 60, which are attached to the network management device 100. The input / output interface 113 receives operation data input by the operator through input devices 50 such as a keyboard, touch panel, touchpad, and mouse, and outputs output data to an output device 60, including a display device using liquid crystal or organic EL (electroluminescence), for display. The input devices 50 and output devices 60 may be devices built into the network management device 100, or they may be input and output devices of other information terminals that can communicate with the network management device 100 via a network (NW).

[0106] The program memory 111B is a non-temporary tangible storage medium in which a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read at any time, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), is used in combination with another non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores the program necessary to execute various control processes according to one embodiment.

[0107] The data memory 112 is a tangible storage medium that, for example, uses a combination of the above-mentioned non-volatile memory and volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), and is used to store various data acquired and created during the process of various operations.

[0108] The network management device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention may be configured as a data processing device having a fault impact determination processing unit 10, a Spec DB 20, and an Entity DB 30 as software-based processing functions, as shown in Figures 1, 9, or 16.

[0109] Spec DB20 and Entity DB30 may be configured using the data memory 112 shown in Figure 22. However, these areas are not essential to the network management device 100 and may be located on external storage media such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, or on storage devices such as database servers located in the cloud.

[0110] Each processing function in the fault impact determination processing unit 10 described above can be implemented by having the hardware processor 111A read and execute a program stored in the program memory 111B. Some or all of these processing functions may be implemented in various other forms, including application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0111] Furthermore, the methods described in each embodiment can be stored as programs (software means) that can be executed by a computer on recording media such as magnetic disks (floppy disks, hard disks, etc.), optical disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, MOs, etc.), and semiconductor memories (ROMs, RAMs, flash memories, etc.), and can also be transmitted and distributed via communication media. The programs stored on the media also include configuration programs that configure the computer to contain the software means (including not only the execution program but also tables and data structures) that the computer can execute. The computer implementing this device reads the program recorded on the recording media and, if necessary, constructs the software means using the configuration program, and executes the above-described processes by controlling the operation of this software means. Note that the recording media referred to in this specification are not limited to those for distribution, but also include storage media such as magnetic disks and semiconductor memories provided inside the computer or in devices connected via a network.

[0112] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways during implementation without departing from its essence. Furthermore, each embodiment may be combined as appropriate, and in that case, the combined effects can be obtained. Moreover, the above embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by selecting combinations from the multiple constituent elements disclosed. For example, if the problem can be solved and effects obtained even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, then the configuration with these deleted constituent elements can be extracted as an invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0113] 100...Network management device 10…Fault Impact Determination Processing Unit 11…Influence Path Calculation Processing Unit 12…Device failure determination processing unit 12a...Influence path acquisition processing unit 12b...Device information acquisition processing unit 12c...Equipment ladder judgment processing unit 12d...Fault propagation determination processing unit 12e... Backup power supply depletion detection processing unit 12f...Display Processing Unit

Claims

1. A storage device that stores information indicating the connection relationships between multiple communication devices and communication paths in a network configuration, A determination unit determines that a failure has occurred in a communication device when, due to a failure of the main power supply, power is no longer supplied from the main power supply to any of the multiple communication devices, and a period of time has elapsed until the power supplied to the communication device from the backup power supply is depleted. Based on the information stored in the storage device, the determination unit determines the communication devices affected by the failure as the scope of the failure. A network management device equipped with the following features.

2. Each of the aforementioned communication devices is housed separately in each of the multiple buildings. The determination unit, When a main power supply unit located in any of the aforementioned buildings fails, and a period of time has elapsed until the power supplied to the communication equipment located in that building from the backup power supply located in that building is depleted, it is determined that a failure has occurred in the communication equipment located in that building. Based on the information stored in the storage device, the communication equipment affected by the failure is determined as the scope of the failure. The network management device according to claim 1.

3. Assuming that a main power supply unit housed in any of the aforementioned buildings has failed, and that a backup power supply unit housed in that building is supplying power to a communication device housed in that building, the system further includes a display processing unit that displays a screen indicating that no failure has occurred in the communication device. The network management device according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned storage device includes: Step information indicating the steps of multiple communication devices is stored. The network management device according to claim 1.

5. The determination unit, When a failure occurs in the communication device, information indicating the communication path connected to the failed communication device is obtained based on the information stored in the storage device. The hierarchy information of the communication device where the malfunction occurred is compared with the hierarchy information of other communication devices connected to the communication path indicated by the acquired information. If the results of the comparison indicate that the other communication device is a lower-level communication device than the communication device where the failure occurred, the communication path indicated by the acquired information and the other communication device are determined to be within the scope of the failure. The network management device according to claim 4.

6. A method performed by a network management device having a storage device that stores information indicating the connection relationships between multiple communication devices and communication paths in a network configuration, The determination unit of the network management device determines that a failure has occurred in a communication device when, due to a failure of the main power supply, power is no longer supplied from the main power supply to any of the multiple communication devices, and a period of time has elapsed until the power supplied to the communication device from the backup power supply is depleted. Based on the information stored in the storage device, the determination unit determines the communication devices affected by the failure as the scope of the failure. Network management methods.

7. A network management processing program that causes a processor to function as one of the components of the network management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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