Abnormality monitoring method, abnormality monitoring system, and program

Abstract

Provided is an abnormality monitoring method to be performed by a monitoring device that is communicatively connected to a plurality of terminals via a network. According to the abnormality monitoring method: a request is transmitted to a plurality of terminals; one or more responses respectively transmitted by one or more terminals among the plurality of terminals in response to the request are received; it is determined whether, on the basis of the one or more responses, abnormality is present in at least one of (i) a first terminal among the plurality of terminals, and (ii) a first communication path among a plurality of communication paths; if abnormality is present, abnormality information indicating that abnormality is present in at least one of the first terminal and the first communication path is generated; and the generated abnormality information is presented.

Description

Abnormality monitoring method, abnormality monitoring system, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an abnormality monitoring method, an abnormality monitoring system, and a program for causing a computer to execute the abnormality monitoring method, which monitors multiple terminals installed on the same network to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the terminals and the network.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system for identifying a failure when a client terminal cannot use a web system.

[0003] JP 2010-257109 A

[0004] Conventional technologies such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 have the problem that it takes time to determine whether a failure has occurred in the client terminal itself or in the network between the server and the client terminal.

[0005] The present disclosure provides an abnormality monitoring method, an abnormality monitoring system, and a program that allow a user to easily identify whether an abnormality has occurred in a terminal to be monitored or on a network.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an anomaly monitoring method using a monitoring device communicatively connected to a plurality of terminals via a network, the anomaly monitoring method including: transmitting a request to the plurality of terminals via a plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device and the plurality of terminals; receiving one or more responses from one or more of the plurality of terminals in response to the request; determining, based on the one or more responses, whether an anomaly has occurred in at least one of (i) a first terminal of the plurality of terminals and (ii) a first communication path of the plurality of communication paths; and, if the anomaly has occurred, generating anomaly information indicating that the anomaly has occurred in at least one of the first terminal and the first communication path, and presenting the generated anomaly information.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an anomaly monitoring system including a plurality of terminals and a monitoring device communicatively connected to the plurality of terminals via a network. The monitoring device transmits requests to the plurality of terminals via a plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device and the plurality of terminals. When each of the plurality of terminals receives the request from the monitoring device, it transmits a response corresponding to the request to the monitoring device. The monitoring device receives one or more responses transmitted by one or more of the plurality of terminals in response to the request, and determines, based on the one or more responses, whether an anomaly has occurred in at least one of (i) a first terminal among the plurality of terminals and (ii) a first communication path among the plurality of communication paths. If the anomaly has occurred, the monitoring device generates anomaly information indicating that the anomaly has occurred in the first terminal and at least one of the first communication paths, and presents the generated anomaly information.

[0008] These general or specific aspects may be realized by a device, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM, or may be realized by any combination of a method, a system, a device, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a non-transitory recording medium.

[0009] According to the abnormality monitoring method, abnormality monitoring system, and program disclosed herein, a user can easily determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the terminal being monitored or on the network.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an anomaly monitoring system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a table illustrating types of requests. FIG. 3 illustrates information obtained through communication between each terminal and a monitoring device. FIG. 4 illustrates information obtained through communication between each terminal and another terminal. FIG. 5 is a table illustrating group association information. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the anomaly monitoring system according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a response generation process in a terminal. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a failure occurs when acquiring the status of multiple terminals installed on a network. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of anomaly determination process performed by an anomaly determination unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of each piece of information calculated in the anomaly determination process. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination result of an anomaly determination for a terminal. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination result of an anomaly determination for a group. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination result of an anomaly determination for a terminal and a communication path. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of anomaly information. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an anomaly monitoring system according to another embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a comparative example of path information. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of group management information. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of newly identified route information.

[0011] (Findings that Form the Basis of the Present Disclosure) The present inventors have found that the following problems occur with the conventional systems described in the "Background Art" section.

[0012] In conventional monitoring systems that monitor multiple terminals installed on the same network, the communication status of the monitored terminals is periodically acquired, and an abnormality in the terminal is detected based on the communication status. In such monitoring systems, the multiple monitored terminals often include terminals connected via multiple network connection devices (e.g., network hubs, routers, etc.). Furthermore, many other communication devices may be connected to the network in addition to the monitored terminal, which may affect the communication status of the monitored terminal. Therefore, if the communication status is affected by an abnormality in another communication device, the system may falsely detect an abnormality in the terminal even when no abnormality actually exists. Furthermore, it is difficult to identify the cause of the effect on the terminal's communication status.

[0013] Therefore, after careful consideration, the inventor has discovered an abnormality monitoring method that allows a user to easily identify whether an abnormality has occurred in the terminal being monitored or on the network.

[0014] An abnormality monitoring method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an abnormality monitoring method using a monitoring device that is communicatively connected to a plurality of terminals via a network, which sends a request to the plurality of terminals, receives one or more responses sent by one or more of the plurality of terminals in response to the request, and, based on the one or more responses, if an abnormality has occurred in at least one of (i) one or more first terminals among the plurality of terminals, and (ii) one or more first communication paths among a plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device and the plurality of terminals, generates abnormality information indicating the one or more first terminals in which the abnormality has occurred and at least one of the one or more first communication paths, and presents the generated abnormality information.

[0015] According to this, in response to a request sent to a plurality of terminals, anomaly information indicating one or more first terminals and at least one of one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred is generated based on one or more responses sent from one or more of the plurality of terminals, and the anomaly information is presented. Therefore, a user can identify at least one of one or more first terminals and one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred among the plurality of terminals and the plurality of communication paths simply by checking the presented anomaly information. In other words, a user can easily identify whether an abnormality has occurred in a terminal to be monitored or in a communication path on a network.

[0016] Furthermore, each of the one or more responses received by the monitoring device may include one or more pieces of device information indicating one or more communication devices on the network through which the response passed from the terminal that sent the response to the monitoring device, and each of the multiple communication paths may be identified by one or more pieces of device information included in the response sent from the terminal corresponding to the communication path.

[0017] According to this, the communication path from the one or more terminals that sent the one or more responses to the monitoring device is identified based on the one or more pieces of device information included in each of the one or more responses. Therefore, for example, by determining whether an abnormality has occurred in each of the one or more communication devices, it is possible to identify the communication path in which the abnormality has occurred.

[0018] Furthermore, the abnormality information may be generated based on one or more measurement values ​​corresponding to the one or more terminals obtained by receiving the one or more responses, the one or more measurement values ​​being generated in response to the one or more responses, and each of the one or more measurement values ​​being correlated to an evaluation of the communication quality between the monitoring device and the terminal that sent the response to which the measurement value corresponds.

[0019] According to this method, the anomaly information is generated based on one or more measurement values, each of which correlates with an evaluation of the communication quality between the corresponding terminal and the monitoring device, so that the one or more first terminals and at least one of the one or more first communication paths that caused the anomaly can be accurately identified.

[0020] Furthermore, when the number of the one or more terminals is smaller than the number of the plurality of terminals, one or more other measurement values ​​different from the one or more measurement values ​​among the plurality of measurement values ​​may correspond to one or more other terminals different from the one or more terminals among the plurality of terminals, and the one or more other measurement values ​​may be generated because the monitoring device was unable to receive one or more other responses in response to the request from the one or more other terminals within a predetermined period of time, and may indicate a communication quality evaluation that is lower than the one or more measurement values.

[0021] According to this, since the evaluation of one or more other measurement values ​​is determined to be lower than the evaluation of one or more measurement values, it is possible to determine that an abnormality has occurred in one or more other terminals corresponding to responses that the monitoring device has not received within a predetermined period, or in one or more communication paths between the one or more other terminals and the monitoring device. Therefore, it is possible to accurately identify at least one of the one or more first terminals and the one or more first communication paths that caused the abnormality.

[0022] In addition, the abnormality information may indicate one or more first terminals corresponding to one or more first measurement values ​​among the plurality of measurement values ​​that fall within a first numerical range indicating that the communication quality evaluation is lower than a first threshold value as terminals in which the abnormality is occurring, and the plurality of terminals may include the one or more first terminals.

[0023] Therefore, by receiving one or more responses, it is possible to identify one or more first terminals with low evaluations of communication quality among the multiple terminals as terminals in which an abnormality has occurred.

[0024] Furthermore, the abnormality information may further indicate one or more second terminals corresponding to one or more second measurement values ​​among the plurality of measurement values ​​that fall within a second numerical range indicating that the communication quality evaluation is higher than the first threshold value as terminals in which the abnormality is not occurring.

[0025] Therefore, by receiving a plurality of responses, one or more second terminals having a high evaluation of communication quality among the plurality of terminals can be identified as terminals in which no abnormality has occurred.

[0026] Further, the multiple terminals may include multiple first group terminals belonging to a first group, and the multiple first group terminals communicate with the monitoring device via a first communication device among the one or more communication devices, and the multiple measurement values ​​may include multiple first group measurement values ​​generated respectively corresponding to the multiple first group terminals, and in the abnormality information, if each of the multiple first group measurement values ​​is within a third numerical range indicating that the communication quality evaluation is lower than a second threshold, the first communication path via the first communication device may be indicated as the communication path in which the abnormality is occurring.

[0027] When each of the plurality of first group measurement values ​​falls within a third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold, the cause may be that an abnormality has occurred in all of the plurality of first group terminals, or that an abnormality has occurred in the first communication path. Therefore, when each of the plurality of first group measurement values ​​falls within the third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold, the abnormality information may indicate that the first communication path is a communication path in which an abnormality has occurred, thereby notifying the user that an abnormality may also have occurred in the first communication path.

[0028] Furthermore, the multiple terminals may further include multiple second group terminals belonging to a second group, and the multiple second group terminals may communicate with the monitoring device via a second communication device among the one or more communication devices, and the multiple measurement values ​​may further include multiple second group measurement values ​​generated respectively corresponding to the multiple second group terminals, and the abnormality information may further indicate that the second communication path via the second communication device is a communication path in which the abnormality has not occurred if at least one of the multiple second group measurement values ​​is within a fourth numerical range indicating that the communication quality evaluation is higher than the second threshold.

[0029] When at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​is within a fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of the communication quality is higher than the second threshold, it is considered that no abnormality has occurred in the second communication path. Therefore, when at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​is within the fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of the communication quality is higher than the second threshold, the second communication path is indicated in the abnormality information as a communication path in which no abnormality has occurred, thereby notifying the user that no abnormality has occurred in the second communication path.

[0030] Furthermore, each of the one or more measurement values ​​may be a response period from a first time when the monitoring device sends the request to a terminal among the plurality of terminals to which the measurement value corresponds, to a second time when the response sent by the terminal is received.

[0031] Furthermore, each of the one or more responses may include the number of times that the response has been retransmitted by a terminal among the one or more terminals that sent the response, and each of the one or more measurement values ​​may be the number of times that the measurement value is included in the response to which the measurement value corresponds.

[0032] Furthermore, each of the one or more responses may include the number of errors that occurred in the transmission of the response by the terminal that sent the response among the one or more terminals, and each of the one or more measurement values ​​may be the number of occurrences in which the measurement value is included in the corresponding response.

[0033] Furthermore, each of the one or more measurement values ​​may be the number of times the monitoring device retransmits the request to a terminal corresponding to the measurement value among the one or more terminals.

[0034] Furthermore, each of the one or more measurement values ​​may be the number of errors that occurred in the transmission of the request by the monitoring device to the terminal to which the measurement value corresponds, among the one or more terminals.

[0035] In addition, in the abnormality information, the one or more first terminals in which an abnormality has occurred may be displayed in a different manner from other terminals in which an abnormality has not occurred, and the one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred may be displayed in a different manner from other communication paths in which an abnormality has not occurred.

[0036] Therefore, the user can visually distinguish between a terminal in which an abnormality has occurred and a terminal in which an abnormality has not occurred, and can also visually distinguish between a communication path in which an abnormality has occurred and a communication path in which an abnormality has not occurred.

[0037] Furthermore, an anomaly monitoring system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an anomaly monitoring system comprising a plurality of terminals and a monitoring device communicatively connected to the plurality of terminals via a network, wherein the monitoring device transmits a request to the plurality of terminals, receives one or more responses transmitted by one or more of the plurality of terminals in response to the request, and, based on the one or more responses, generates anomaly information indicating the one or more first terminals in which the anomaly has occurred and at least one of the one or more first communication paths if an anomaly has occurred in at least one of (i) one or more first terminals among the plurality of terminals, and (ii) one or more first communication paths among a plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device and the plurality of terminals, and presents the generated anomaly information; and when each of the plurality of terminals receives the request from the monitoring device, transmits a response corresponding to the request to the monitoring device.

[0038] According to this, in response to a request sent to a plurality of terminals, anomaly information indicating one or more first terminals and at least one of one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred is generated based on one or more responses sent from one or more of the plurality of terminals, and the anomaly information is presented. Therefore, a user can identify at least one of one or more first terminals and one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred among the plurality of terminals and the plurality of communication paths simply by checking the presented anomaly information. In other words, a user can easily identify whether an abnormality has occurred in a terminal to be monitored or in a communication path on a network.

[0039] These general or specific aspects may be realized by a device, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM, or may be realized by any combination of a method, a system, a device, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a non-transitory recording medium.

[0040] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of well-known matters or redundant explanation of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy in the following explanation and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0041] The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0042] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0043] [1-1. Configuration] [1-1-1. Configuration of Anomaly Monitoring System] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an anomaly monitoring system according to an embodiment.

[0044] The abnormality monitoring system includes a plurality of terminals 10 and a monitoring device 30. The plurality of terminals 10 are connected to a network 50 via a connection terminal 20. The monitoring device 30 is also connected to the network 50 via the connection terminal 20. In other words, the plurality of terminals 10 and the monitoring device 30 are connected to each other via the network 50 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0045] The multiple terminals 10 include multiple terminals 10 belonging to group 5a and multiple terminals 10 belonging to group 5b. The multiple terminals 10 belonging to group 5a are connected to the network 50 via a common connection terminal 20. The multiple terminals 10 belonging to group 5b are connected to the network 50 via a common connection terminal 20. Note that there may be only one terminal 10 belonging to each group. The connection terminal 20 to which the multiple terminals 10 belonging to group 5a are connected is different from the connection terminal 20 to which the multiple terminals 10 belonging to group 5b are connected. These two connection terminals 20 and the connection terminal 20 to which the monitoring device 30 is connected may be different from each other.

[0046] The state of each of the multiple terminals 10 is monitored by the monitoring device 30. That is, each of the multiple terminals 10 is a terminal to be monitored by the monitoring device 30. The multiple terminals 10 may be realized by, for example, a display terminal such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, or a projector, or may be realized by an imaging terminal such as a camera.

[0047] The monitoring device 30 is a device that monitors the status of each of the multiple terminals 10. The monitoring device 30 also monitors the communication status of multiple communication paths between each of the multiple terminals 10. The monitoring device 30 transmits a request to the multiple terminals 10 and receives one or more responses transmitted by one or more of the multiple terminals 10 in response to the transmitted request. Based on the one or more received responses, the monitoring device 30 acquires the status of each of the multiple terminals 10 and the communication status of the multiple communication paths between each of the multiple terminals 10. If an abnormality occurs in at least one of the multiple terminals 10 and one or more of the multiple communication paths based on the communication status of the multiple terminals 10 and the communication status of the multiple communication paths, the monitoring device 30 generates abnormality information indicating at least one of the one or more terminals 10 and one or more of the communication paths in which the abnormality occurs, and presents the generated abnormality information. The monitoring device 30 may be realized by an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer).

[0048] Each of the plurality of connection terminals 20 is realized by a network hub, a router, or the like.

[0049] The network 50 may be a general-purpose network such as the Internet, or may be a dedicated network.

[0050] [1-1-2. Terminal Configuration] Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the multiple terminals 10. Since the multiple terminals 10 have the same configuration, the configuration of one terminal 10 will be described.

[0051] The terminal 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a communication control unit 12, and a transmission / reception unit 13. The transmission / reception unit 13 receives a request transmitted from the monitoring device 30. The communication control unit 12 analyzes the request received by the transmission / reception unit 13. The acquisition unit 11 acquires various information requested in the received request according to the request analysis result by the communication control unit 12. The acquisition unit 11 also acquires measurement information by measuring the communication state at the time the request is received. The measurement information includes, for example, communication traffic, network communication state, etc. The measurement information may also include, as a measurement value, the number of retransmissions of a response to a request by the terminal 10. The measurement information may also include, as a measurement value, the number of errors that occurred in transmitting a response to a request by the terminal 10. The communication control unit 12 may store the measured communication state in a storage device (not shown) provided in the terminal 10 each time the acquisition unit 11 measures the communication state. The transmitter / receiver 13 transmits a response including the various information and measurement information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 to the monitoring device 30 as a response to the received request.

[0052] Each component of the terminal 10 may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0053] [1-1-3. Configuration of the Monitoring Device] Next, the configuration of the monitoring device 30 will be described.

[0054] The monitoring device 30 includes a transmitter / receiver unit 31, an acquisition unit 32, a route identification unit 33, a terminal management unit 34, an inter-group information acquisition unit 35, a group management unit 36, an abnormality determination unit 37, a route management unit 38, an abnormality information generation unit 39, and a display unit 40.

[0055] The transmitter / receiver 31 receives one or more responses transmitted by one or more terminals 10 among the plurality of terminals 10 in response to a request from the monitoring device 30. The one or more terminals 10 are terminals among the plurality of terminals 10 that were able to transmit a response in response to the request. In other words, if all of the plurality of terminals 10 were able to transmit a response, the one or more terminals 10 are the same as all of the plurality of terminals 10.

[0056] Each of the one or more responses received by the monitoring device 30 includes terminal information about the terminal 10 that sent the response and one or more pieces of device information. The terminal information includes individual setting information, such as the IP address of the terminal 10 that sent the response including the terminal information. The terminal information may also include group information that identifies the group to which the terminal 10 belongs. Each of the one or more pieces of device information indicates one or more communication devices on the network through which the response including the device information passed from the terminal 10 that sent the response to the monitoring device 30. The one or more communication devices include, for example, a connection terminal 20 for connecting the terminal 10 to the network 50 and a connection terminal 20 for connecting the monitoring device 30 to the network 50. Each of the one or more pieces of device information may be any information that can identify one or more communication devices. Each of the one or more responses may also include measurement information.

[0057] The acquisition unit 32 generates requests to be transmitted to the multiple terminals 10, and transmits the generated requests to the multiple terminals 10 via the transmission / reception unit 31. Fig. 2 is a table for explaining the types of requests. The requests may be generated periodically and transmitted to the multiple terminals 10, or may be transmitted to the multiple terminals 10 upon receiving predetermined information.

[0058] The requests include, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 , a terminal status request requesting the monitored terminal 10 to transmit the status of the terminal 10, a route information request requesting route information, and a communication status request requesting the transmission of the communication status of the terminal 10. The status of the terminal 10 requested in the terminal status request includes, for example, the operating status, display status, connection status, and setting information, and specifically includes the power on / off state, temperature, network connection status, IP address, MAC address, and the like. Other information includes warning information and error information indicating a stage of an abnormality in the terminal 10. The warning information and error information may be presented when the intake temperature of the cooling fan of the terminal 10 or the amount of dust sucked by the cooling fan exceeds a predetermined threshold. In other words, the terminal 10 may be determined to have an abnormality when the intake temperature of the cooling fan of the terminal 10 or the amount of dust sucked by the cooling fan exceeds a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may include a first threshold that triggers the generation of warning information and a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold and triggers the generation of error information. The route information requested in the route information request includes, for example, a route request, and indicates that information is exchanged via route A via router A and route B via router B. The communication status request (response time request) is, for example, the time from when the monitoring device 30 issues an arbitrary transmission request to the terminal 10 until when the monitoring device 30 receives a response to the transmission request from the terminal 10.

[0059] The acquiring unit 32 may measure, for each of the one or more received responses, the time from a first time when a request for the response is transmitted to the multiple terminals 10 via the transmitting / receiving unit 31 to a second time when the response is received as the response time of each terminal 10, and generate measurement information including the response time obtained by the measurement as a measurement value. The acquiring unit 32 may also generate measurement information including, as a measurement value, the number of retransmissions of the request by the monitoring device 30 to each terminal 10. The acquiring unit 32 may also generate measurement information including, as a measurement value, the number of errors that occurred in transmission of the request by the monitoring device 30 to each terminal 10.

[0060] The acquisition unit 32 may also associate the generated measurement information with terminal information of the terminal 10 corresponding to the measurement information. The measurement value included in the measurement information correlates with an evaluation of the communication quality between the monitoring device 30 and the terminal that transmitted a response including the measurement information including the measurement value, or a response from which the measurement information including the measurement value was generated. For example, a longer response time indicates lower communication quality, a larger number of response or request retransmissions indicates lower communication quality, and a larger number of errors indicates lower communication quality.

[0061] Furthermore, when the acquisition unit 32 is unable to receive responses from all of the multiple terminals 10, that is, when the number of one or more terminals 10 corresponding to one or more responses is smaller than the total number of the multiple terminals 10, the acquisition unit 32 may generate measurement information of one or more other terminals 10 from which responses were not received as follows: That is, the one or more pieces of measurement information of one or more other terminals 10 may be generated when the monitoring device 30 is unable to receive one or more other responses in response to a request from one or more other terminals 10 within a predetermined period of time, and may indicate that the communication quality evaluation is lower than the one or more measurement values ​​acquired in response to the one or more received responses.

[0062] In addition, for each of the one or more responses received by the transmitting / receiving unit 31, the acquisition unit 32 acquires the terminal information contained in the response, which is the terminal information and one or more pieces of device information related to the terminal 10 that sent the response, and outputs the data set of the terminal information and one or more pieces of device information acquired for each response to the route identification unit 33.

[0063] The route identification unit 33 acquires a plurality of data sets from the acquisition unit 32, and for each of the plurality of data sets, identifies a communication route of the terminal 10 identified by the terminal information based on the terminal information and one or more pieces of device information included in the data set. The communication route is identified by a combination of one or more pieces of device information included in a response transmitted from the terminal 10 corresponding to the communication route, i.e., the terminal 10 identified by the terminal information.

[0064] The terminal management unit 34 stores each data set for each piece of terminal information included in the data set. Specifically, the terminal management unit 34 stores one or more pieces of device information and measurement information included in each data set in association with the terminal information. The terminal management unit 34 may store a data set included in a periodically received response in association with the time at which the response was received.

[0065] 3 and 4 are tables showing route information and response times stored for each terminal. Fig. 3 shows information obtained through communication between each terminal 10 and the monitoring device 30. Fig. 4 shows information obtained through communication between each terminal 10 and another terminal 10.

[0066] In the table of Figure 3, for each of the multiple terminals 10, terminal A1, terminal A2, terminal B1, terminal B2, and terminal C2, the terminal information of the terminal, route information, and response time between the monitoring device 30 and the terminal are associated.

[0067] In the table of FIG. 4, route information between terminal A1 and each of other terminals A2, B1, B2, and C2 is associated with response times between the terminals and between the terminals.

[0068] Furthermore, the terminal management unit 34 may store the terminal information in association with the group information, as shown in FIG. 5 , which will be described later. FIG. 5 is a table showing group association information. This allows the terminal management unit 34 to store each data set for each piece of terminal information and each piece of group information. When group information is included in each of one or more responses, the terminal management unit 34 may store each data set for each piece of group information based on the group information included in each of the one or more responses. Furthermore, the terminal management unit 34 may store each data set for each piece of group information based on the group association information generated by the group management unit 36.

[0069] Based on input from the user, the group management unit 36 ​​may generate group information indicating groups into which a plurality of terminals 10 are classified. The group management unit 36 ​​may generate group association information that associates the group information with a plurality of pieces of terminal information indicating a plurality of terminals that belong to the group indicated by the group information, and output the group association information to the terminal management unit 34.

[0070] The abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in each terminal 10 based on the data set for each terminal managed by the terminal management unit 34. Specifically, for each of the multiple terminals 10, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether a measurement value included in the measurement information of the terminal 10 falls within a first numerical range or a second numerical range. If the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that a measurement value included in the measurement information of the terminal 10 falls within the first numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the terminal 10 corresponding to the measurement value. Note that the first numerical range is a numerical range of measurement values ​​indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than a first threshold. If the measurement value included in the measurement information of the terminal 10 falls within a second numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that no abnormality has occurred in the terminal 10 corresponding to the measurement value. Note that the second numerical range is a numerical range of measurement values ​​indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is higher than the first threshold.

[0071] Furthermore, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in all of the one or more terminals 10 included in each group based on the data set for each group managed by the terminal management unit 34. For each of the one or more groups, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether all of the measurement values ​​of the one or more terminals 10 included in the group fall within a third numerical range, or whether at least one of the one or more terminals 10 falls within a fourth numerical range. If the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that all of the measurement values ​​included in the one or more measurement information of the one or more terminals 10 included in the group fall within the third numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the communication path via the connection terminal 20 connecting the one or more terminals 10 in the group to the network 50. Note that the third numerical range is a numerical range of measurement values ​​indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold. If at least one measurement value of the one or more terminals 10 included in the group falls within the fourth numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that no abnormality has occurred in the communication path via the connection terminal 20 connecting the one or more terminals 10 in the group to the network 50. The fourth numerical range is a numerical range of measurement values ​​that indicates that the evaluation of communication quality is higher than the second threshold value.

[0072] Here, the first threshold and the second threshold may be the same or different from each other. When the first threshold and the second threshold are the same, the first numerical range and the third numerical range are the same, and the second numerical range and the fourth numerical range are the same.

[0073] The determination by the abnormality determination unit 37 may be made at multiple predetermined times, or may be made when a request is sent and one or more responses to that request are received, or may be made at a time specified by the user.

[0074] The anomaly information generator 39 generates anomaly information in accordance with the determination result by the anomaly determiner 37. Specifically, the anomaly information indicates, as a terminal in which an anomaly has occurred, one or more first terminals, each corresponding to one or more first measurement values ​​among the plurality of measurement values ​​that fall within a first numerical range indicating that the evaluation of the communication quality is lower than a first threshold value. Furthermore, the anomaly information may further indicate, as a terminal in which an anomaly has not occurred, one or more second terminals, each corresponding to one or more second measurement values ​​among the plurality of measurement values ​​that fall within a second numerical range indicating that the evaluation of the communication quality is higher than the first threshold value.

[0075] Furthermore, in the anomaly information, if each of the plurality of first group measurement values ​​falls within a third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold, the first communication path via the first communication device is indicated as a communication path in which an anomaly has occurred. The plurality of first group measurement values ​​are measurement values ​​generated corresponding to a plurality of first group terminals. The plurality of first group terminals are terminals that communicate with the monitoring device 30 via the first communication device of one or more communication devices, and belong to the first group.

[0076] Furthermore, in the anomaly information, if at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​falls within a fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is higher than the second threshold, the second communication path via the second communication device is indicated as a communication path in which no anomaly has occurred. The plurality of second group measurement values ​​are measurement values ​​generated corresponding to the plurality of second group terminals. The plurality of second group terminals are terminals that communicate with the monitoring device 30 via the second communication device of one or more communication devices, and belong to the second group.

[0077] In addition, in the anomaly information, the one or more first terminals in which an anomaly has occurred may be displayed in a different display mode from other terminals in which an anomaly has not occurred, and the one or more first communication paths in which an anomaly has occurred may be displayed in a different display mode from other communication paths in which an anomaly has not occurred. In other words, the anomaly information is information indicating that an anomaly has occurred in at least one of the first terminals and the first communication paths.

[0078] The display unit 40 presents the anomaly information to the user by displaying the anomaly information generated by the anomaly information generating unit 39. The display unit 40 is realized by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like.

[0079] Each component of the monitoring device 30 may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0080] [1-2. Operation] The operation of the anomaly monitoring system configured as above will be described. Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the anomaly monitoring system according to the embodiment. Note that, although Fig. 6 shows two terminals, these two terminals belong to different groups.

[0081] First, the monitoring device 30 generates a request at a predetermined timing (S101).

[0082] Next, the monitoring device 30 transmits the generated request to a plurality of terminals 10 (S102).

[0083] Next, each of the multiple terminals 10 receives the request (S103) and generates a response in response to the request (S104).

[0084] Then, each of the terminals 10 transmits the generated response to the monitoring device 30 (S105). Details of step S105 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0085] The monitoring device 30 receives a plurality of responses from a plurality of terminals 10 (S106).

[0086] The monitoring device 30 acquires a plurality of measurement values ​​corresponding to the plurality of terminals 10 based on the plurality of responses (S107).

[0087] The monitoring device 30 generates abnormality information based on the plurality of measurement values ​​(S108) and presents the generated abnormality information (S109).

[0088] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a response generation process in a terminal.

[0089] In step S105, the terminal 10 determines whether the request includes a route information request (S111).

[0090] If the request includes a route information request (Yes in S111), the terminal 10 acquires route information (S112). The route information may be generated based on device information included in the request that indicates one or more communication devices through which the request passes before being received by the terminal 10.

[0091] If the request does not include a route information request (No in S111), the terminal 10 acquires the operation status of the terminal 10 (S113).

[0092] The terminal 10 generates a response including the acquired operation status (S114). When the terminal 10 acquires the route information, the terminal 10 generates a response including the operation status and the route information.

[0093] [1-2-1. Example of Connection of Terminals to be Monitored] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of a case where a failure occurs when acquiring the status of a plurality of terminals installed on a network.

[0094] 8, the multiple terminals 10 to be monitored by the monitoring device 30 include terminal A1, terminal A2, terminal B1, and terminal B2. Terminals A1 and A2 are classified into group 5a (group A), and terminals B1 and B2 are classified into group 5b (group B). Terminals A1 and A2 belonging to group 5a are connected to the network 50 by connection terminal A of the multiple connection terminals 20. Terminals b1 and B2 belonging to group 5b are connected to the network 50 by connection terminal B of the multiple connection terminals 20.

[0095] The monitoring device 30 transmits requests to acquire the communication status of multiple terminals 10 at predetermined times. As a result, the monitoring device 30 receives a response 71 from terminals A1 and A2 of group 5a and a response 72 from terminals B1 and B2 of group 5b. The response 71 is a response received within the normal response time, while the response 72 is a response that could not be received within the normal response time. For example, if a communication failure such as a communication load occurs in connection device B, which connects terminals B1 and B2 of group 5b to the network 50, the response 72 cannot be received within the normal response time. Therefore, if the monitoring device 30 does not receive responses within the normal response time from all terminals B1 and B2 of group 5b, it may determine that an abnormality has occurred in connection terminal B.

[0096] [1-2-2. Abnormality Determination Processing by the Abnormality Determination Unit] Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of abnormality determination processing by the abnormality determination unit, and Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of each piece of information calculated in the abnormality determination processing.

[0097] First, the abnormality determination unit 37 of the monitoring device 30 performs a terminal abnormality determination for each of the one or more acquired measurement values, determining whether the measurement value falls within a first abnormal numerical range or a second normal numerical range (S121). If the measurement value falls within the first numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that the terminal corresponding to the measurement value is abnormal, and if the measurement value falls within the second numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines that the terminal corresponding to the measurement value is normal.

[0098] If the measurement value falls within the second normal range, the abnormality determination unit 37 calculates a response difference (S122) and stores the calculated response difference in a storage device such as a memory (S123). As shown in FIG. 10 , the response difference is the difference between the average of the measurement values ​​of the multiple terminals included in each group and the measurement value to be processed. For example, the response difference ΔTa1 of terminal A1 is the difference between the average response time Tr-avrA, which is the average of the response time Tr-a1 of terminal A1 and the response time Tr-a2 of terminal A2. For example, the response difference ΔTa2 of terminal A2 is the difference between the response time Tr-a2 of terminal A2 and the average response time Tr-avrA, which is the average of the response time Tr-a2 of terminal A2. For example, the response difference ΔTb1 of terminal B1 is the difference between the response time Tr-b1 of terminal B1 and the average response time Tr-avrB, which is the average of the response time Tr-b2 of terminal B2. For example, the response difference ΔTb2 of terminal B2 is the difference between the response time Tr-b2 of terminal B1 and the average response time Tr-avrB, which is the average value of the response time Tr-b2 of terminal B2. For example, the response difference ΔTb1 of terminal B1 is the difference between the response time Tr-b1 of terminal B1 and the average response time Tr-avrB, which is the average value of the response time Tr-b2 of terminal B2.

[0099] When the measurement value falls within the abnormal first numerical range, the abnormality determination unit 37 stores abnormal terminal information indicating an abnormal terminal (S124).

[0100] Next, the anomaly determination unit 37 calculates inter-group differences (S125) and stores the calculated inter-group differences in a storage device such as a memory (S126). The inter-group differences are the differences between the average response time of each group and the inter-group average time Tr-avrG, which is the average value of all response times of the multiple terminals 10. For example, the inter-group difference ΔTr-gA of group A is the difference between the average response time Tr-avrA and the inter-group average time Tr-avrG. For example, the inter-group difference ΔTr-gB of group B is the difference between the average response time Tr-avrB and the inter-group average time Tr-avrG. For example, the inter-group difference ΔTr-gC of group C is the difference between the average response time Tr-avrC and the inter-group average time Tr-avrG.

[0101] Next, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether or not each of the multiple terminals 10 is abnormal (S127). For each of the multiple terminals 10, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether or not the amount of delay is equal to or greater than a first time based on the response difference at that terminal 10, and determines a terminal 10 for which the amount of delay is equal to or greater than the first time as an abnormal terminal, and determines a terminal 10 for which the amount of delay is less than the first time as a normal terminal. The amount of delay is an example of a measured value. The first time is an example of a first threshold value.

[0102] For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , the abnormality determination unit 37 may calculate the absolute value of the difference between the response difference and a predetermined value α as the delay amount, and determine that a delay (abnormality) has occurred in the terminal if the delay amount is equal to or greater than half of the predetermined value α, and determine that no delay has occurred in the terminal (normality) if the delay amount is less than half of the predetermined value α.

[0103] Next, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether each of the plurality of groups is abnormal (S128). For each of the plurality of groups, the abnormality determination unit 37 determines whether the delay amount is equal to or greater than a second time based on the inter-group difference within the group, and determines a group whose delay amount is equal to or greater than the second time as an abnormal group, and determines a group whose delay amount is less than the second time as a normal group. The delay amount is an example of a measured value. The predetermined time is an example of a third threshold value.

[0104] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the abnormality determination unit 37 may calculate the absolute value of the difference between the inter-group difference and a predetermined value β as the delay amount, and determine that a delay (abnormality) has occurred in the group if the delay amount is equal to or greater than half of the predetermined value β, and determine that no delay has occurred in the group (normality) if the delay amount is less than half of the predetermined value β.

[0105] 13, terminals A1, B1, and B2 are determined to be abnormal, while terminals A2 and C1 are determined to be normal. Also, groups A and C are determined to be normal, while group B is determined to be abnormal.

[0106] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of abnormality information, which corresponds to the example of fault determination shown in FIG.

[0107] The anomaly information generator 39 acquires the determination result from the anomaly determiner 37 and generates anomaly information indicating that an anomaly has occurred in terminal A1 and group B. The generated anomaly information is displayed on the display unit 40 along with a diagram that schematically illustrates the network from the monitoring device 30 to the end-point monitoring targets. For example, as shown in FIG. 14 , the anomaly information may display terminal A1, in which the anomaly has occurred, and connected terminal B of group B, in which the anomaly has occurred, in thick lines 41 a, and a warning symbol 41 b. Meanwhile, other normal terminals and other connected terminals are displayed in thin lines. Note that, although the anomaly in group B has been indicated by displaying connected terminal B in thick lines, the anomaly may also be indicated by displaying the dashed frame of group 5 b, which represents group B, in thick lines.

[0108] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, the anomaly monitoring system according to this embodiment includes a plurality of terminals 10 and a monitoring device 30 communicatively connected to the plurality of terminals 10 via a network 50. The monitoring device 30 transmits a request to the plurality of terminals 10. The monitoring device 30 receives one or more responses transmitted in response to the request from one or more of the plurality of terminals 10. Based on the one or more responses, if an anomaly has occurred in at least one of (i) one or more first terminals among the plurality of terminals 10 and (ii) one or more first communication paths among the plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device 30 and the plurality of terminals 10, the monitoring device 30 generates anomaly information indicating the one or more first terminals in which the anomaly has occurred and at least one of the one or more first communication paths. The monitoring device 30 presents the generated anomaly information. When each of the plurality of terminals 10 receives a request from the monitoring device 30, it transmits a response corresponding to the request to the monitoring device 30.

[0109] According to this, in response to a request transmitted to a plurality of terminals 10, anomaly information indicating one or more first terminals in which an abnormality has occurred and at least one of one or more first communication paths is generated and presented based on one or more responses transmitted from one or more of the plurality of terminals 10. Therefore, by simply checking the presented anomaly information, a user can identify at least one of one or more first terminals and one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred among the plurality of terminals 10 and the plurality of communication paths. In other words, a user can easily identify whether an abnormality has occurred in the terminal 10 to be monitored or in a communication path on the network.

[0110] Furthermore, in the anomaly monitoring system, each of the one or more responses received by the monitoring device 30 includes one or more pieces of device information indicating one or more communication devices on the network through which the response passed from the terminal that sent the response to the monitoring device 30. Each of the multiple communication paths is identified by one or more pieces of device information included in the response sent from the terminal 10 corresponding to the communication path.

[0111] According to this, based on one or more pieces of device information included in each of the one or more responses, a communication path from one or more terminals that have transmitted one or more responses to the monitoring device 30 is identified. Therefore, for example, by determining whether or not an abnormality has occurred in each of one or more communication devices, it is possible to identify the communication path in which the abnormality has occurred.

[0112] In the anomaly monitoring system, the anomaly information is generated based on one or more measurement values ​​corresponding to one or more terminals obtained by receiving one or more responses. The one or more measurement values ​​are generated in response to the one or more responses. Each of the one or more measurement values ​​correlates with an evaluation of the communication quality between the monitoring device 30 and the terminal that transmitted the response corresponding to the measurement value among the one or more responses.

[0113] According to this method, the anomaly information is generated based on one or more measurement values, each of which correlates with an evaluation of the communication quality between the terminal 10 to which the measurement value corresponds and the monitoring device 30. Therefore, it is possible to accurately identify the one or more first terminals and at least one of the one or more first communication paths that caused the anomaly.

[0114] Furthermore, in the anomaly monitoring system, when the number of one or more terminals 10 from which the monitoring device 30 was able to receive a response is smaller than the number of the multiple terminals 10, one or more other measurement values ​​different from one or more measurement values ​​among the multiple measurement values ​​correspond to one or more other terminals different from one or more terminals among the multiple terminals 10. Furthermore, the one or more other measurement values ​​are generated because the monitoring device 30 was unable to receive one or more other responses in response to a request from one or more other terminals within a predetermined period of time, and indicate a lower evaluation of the communication quality than the one or more measurement values.

[0115] According to this, the evaluation of one or more other measurement values ​​is determined to be lower than the evaluation of one or more other measurement values, so it is possible to determine that an abnormality has occurred in one or more other terminals 10 corresponding to the response that the monitoring device 30 has not received within a predetermined period, or in one or more communication paths between the one or more other terminals 10 and the monitoring device 30. Therefore, it is possible to accurately identify at least one of the one or more first terminals and one or more first communication paths that caused the abnormality.

[0116] In the anomaly monitoring system, the anomaly information indicates, as a terminal in which an anomaly has occurred, one or more first terminals, each of which corresponds to one or more first measurement values ​​that fall within a first numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than a first threshold value, among the plurality of measurement values. The plurality of terminals 10 includes one or more first terminals.

[0117] Therefore, by receiving one or more responses, it is possible to identify one or more first terminals among the multiple terminals 10 that have a low evaluation of communication quality as terminals in which an abnormality has occurred.

[0118] In addition, in the abnormality monitoring system, the abnormality information further indicates one or more second terminals corresponding to one or more second measurement values ​​that fall within a second numerical range among the multiple measurement values, which indicates that the communication quality evaluation is higher than the first threshold, as terminals in which no abnormality has occurred.

[0119] Therefore, by receiving a plurality of responses, one or more second terminals having a high evaluation of communication quality among the plurality of terminals 10 can be identified as terminals in which no abnormality has occurred.

[0120] In the anomaly monitoring system, the multiple terminals include multiple first group terminals belonging to a first group. The multiple first group terminals communicate with the monitoring device 30 via a first communication device among the one or more communication devices. The multiple measurement values ​​include multiple first group measurement values ​​generated corresponding to the multiple first group terminals. In the anomaly information, if each of the multiple first group measurement values ​​falls within a third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold, the first communication path via the first communication device is indicated as a communication path in which an anomaly has occurred.

[0121] When each of the plurality of first group measurement values ​​falls within a third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold, the cause may be that an abnormality has occurred in all of the plurality of first group terminals, or that an abnormality has occurred in the first communication path. Therefore, when each of the plurality of first group measurement values ​​falls within the third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than the second threshold, the abnormality information may indicate that the first communication path is a communication path in which an abnormality has occurred, thereby notifying the user that an abnormality may also have occurred in the first communication path.

[0122] In the anomaly monitoring system, the plurality of terminals 10 further includes a plurality of second group terminals belonging to a second group. The plurality of second group terminals communicate with the monitoring device 30 via a second communication device among the one or more communication devices. The plurality of measurement values ​​further includes a plurality of second group measurement values ​​generated corresponding to the plurality of second group terminals. The anomaly information further indicates that, if at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​falls within a fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is higher than a second threshold, the second communication path via the second communication device is indicated as a communication path in which no anomaly has occurred.

[0123] When at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​is within a fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of the communication quality is higher than the second threshold, it is considered that no abnormality has occurred in the second communication path. Therefore, when at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​is within the fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of the communication quality is higher than the second threshold, the second communication path is indicated in the abnormality information as a communication path in which no abnormality has occurred, thereby notifying the user that no abnormality has occurred in the second communication path.

[0124] In addition, in the abnormality monitoring system, the abnormality information indicates one or more first terminals in which an abnormality has occurred in a display manner different from that of other terminals in which an abnormality has not occurred, and indicates one or more first communication paths in which an abnormality has occurred in a display manner different from that of other communication paths in which an abnormality has not occurred.

[0125] Therefore, the user can visually distinguish between a terminal in which an abnormality has occurred and a terminal in which an abnormality has not occurred, and can also visually distinguish between a communication path in which an abnormality has occurred and a communication path in which an abnormality has not occurred.

[0126] Furthermore, in the anomaly monitoring system, a user who manages the terminals to be monitored may set priorities for anomaly determination according to the type or group of the terminal. This allows the frequency of sending requests to be adjusted for each type or group of terminal by sending requests to the terminals according to the set priorities. Therefore, even if the number of terminals to be monitored increases, the concentration of communication loads related to the communication processing of sending requests and receiving responses can be reduced by scheduling the sending of requests.

[0127] (Another embodiment) Hereinafter, differences from the above embodiment will be mainly described with reference to Figs. 15 to 18, and descriptions of the same configurations may be omitted.

[0128] 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an anomaly monitoring system according to another embodiment. In the anomaly monitoring system according to this embodiment, two subgroups, subgroup C1 and subgroup C2, are connected to a connection terminal C connected to a network 50. Subgroup C1 includes a connection terminal 21 (connection terminal Crt1) connected to connection terminal 20 (connection terminal C), and terminals 10 (terminals C1 and C2) connected to connection terminal 21. Subgroup C2 includes a connection terminal 21 (connection terminal Crt2) connected to connection terminal 20 (connection terminal C), and terminals 10 (terminals C3 and C4) connected to connection terminal 21. Group C is managed by a group management unit 36 ​​in the monitoring device 30 as a group consisting of subgroup C1 and subgroup C2.

[0129] The connection terminal 20 is a router with a MAC address and is capable of changing its response to a route information request, while the connection terminal 21 is a network hub that only performs branching and does not have a MAC address, so it does not return a response to a route information request.

[0130] Here, because the connected terminal 21 does not return a response to the route information request from the monitoring device 30, the route identification unit 33 is unable to recognize the communication route corresponding to subgroup C1 and the communication route corresponding to subgroup C2. That is, if a route information request were simply sent, the route identification unit 33 would identify the route information as a communication route to terminal 10 as shown in FIG. 16 . Therefore, the route management unit 38 compares the communication route information identified by the route identification unit 33 shown in FIG. 16 with the group management information of each terminal information managed by the terminal management unit 34 shown in FIG. 17 . If there is a difference, it determines that a connected terminal route exists, and creates and identifies new route information including a tentative connected terminal route as shown in FIG. 18 . That is, the monitoring device 30 determines that group C includes subgroup C1 and subgroup C2 based on the group management information stored in the terminal management unit 34. The monitoring device 30 identifies a first tentative communication path (Route C ⇒ Route C1 (tentative)) corresponding to the subgroup C1 and a second tentative communication path (Route C ⇒ Route C2 (tentative)) corresponding to the subgroup C2.

[0131] As shown in FIG. 18 , the response time from terminals C1 and C2 (an example of a first subgroup measurement value) is Tc1, and the response time from terminals C3 and C4 (an example of a second subgroup measurement value) is Tc2. If Tc1<Tc2, it is determined that there is a response delay on the route to terminal 10 with a response time of Tc2. In this case, it is determined that some abnormality has occurred in the connected terminals 21 (terminals C3 and C4) of "Route C2 (provisional)" based on the newly created route information. That is, if the response time (Tc2) corresponding to terminals C3 and C4 is longer than the response time (Tc1) corresponding to terminals C1 and C2, the monitoring device 30 generates abnormality information indicating that an abnormality (response delay) has occurred on the second tentative communication path. In one example, if Tc2 is 10% or more longer than Tc1, the monitoring device 30 determines that there is a response delay on the second tentative communication path. This makes it possible to detect the state of connected terminals that are not present in the acquired route information but are actually present but are not returning responses.

[0132] For this reason, terminals 10 are generally managed in groups because they are installed in different locations or to make it easier for an administrator to manage the terminals 10. In this case, the route from the monitoring device 30 to the terminal is branched using an inexpensive connection terminal that does not have a MAC address. In such a case, by replacing the group management information of the terminal with a virtual connection terminal, it becomes possible to monitor the status of connection terminals that do not exist in the route information.

[0133] Although the abnormality monitoring system and the like according to the embodiment of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to this embodiment.

[0134] Furthermore, each processing unit included in the anomaly monitoring system, monitoring device, terminal, connection terminal, etc. according to the above-described embodiments is typically realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. These may be individually implemented as single chips, or some or all of them may be integrated into a single chip.

[0135] Furthermore, the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells within the LSI may also be used.

[0136] The present disclosure may also be realized as an anomaly monitoring system, an image processing device, an anomaly monitoring method executed by a terminal, or the like.

[0137] The division of functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and multiple functional blocks may be realized as a single functional block, one functional block may be divided into multiple blocks, or some functions may be moved to another functional block.Furthermore, the functions of multiple functional blocks having similar functions may be processed in parallel or in time-sharing by a single piece of hardware or software.

[0138] The order in which the steps in the flowchart are executed is merely an example for specifically explaining the present disclosure, and other orders may be used. Also, some of the steps may be executed simultaneously (in parallel) with other steps.

[0139] While image processing systems, image processing devices, servers, display devices, etc. according to one or more aspects have been described based on the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. As long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present disclosure, various modifications conceivable by those skilled in the art to the present embodiments, or configurations constructed by combining components of different embodiments, may also be included within the scope of one or more aspects.

[0140] The present disclosure is applicable to an abnormality monitoring system that monitors the communication status of terminals installed on a network.

[0141] 5a, 5b Group 10 Terminal 11 Acquisition unit 12 Communication control unit 13 Transmitting / receiving unit 20, 21 Connected terminal 30 Monitoring device 31 Transmitting / receiving unit 32 Acquisition unit 33 Route identification unit 34 Terminal management unit 36 ​​Group management unit 37 Abnormality determination unit 38 Route management unit 39 Abnormality information generation unit 40 Display unit 50 Network

Claims

1. A method for monitoring an abnormality using a monitoring device communicably connected to a plurality of terminals via a network, comprising: transmitting a request to the plurality of terminals via a plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device and the plurality of terminals; receiving, by one or more terminals among the plurality of terminals, one or more responses respectively transmitted in response to the request; determining whether or not an abnormality has occurred in at least one of (i) a first terminal among the plurality of terminals and (ii) a first communication path among the plurality of communication paths, based on the one or more responses; If the abnormality occurs, generating abnormality information indicating that the abnormality occurs in at least one of the first terminal and the first communication path; Present the generated anomaly information Anomaly monitoring method.

2. each of the one or more responses received by the monitoring device includes one or more pieces of device information indicating one or more communication devices on the network through which the response passed from the terminal that transmitted the response to the monitoring device; Each of the plurality of communication paths is identified by one or more pieces of device information included in a response transmitted from a terminal corresponding to the communication path. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 1 .

3. the anomaly information is generated based on one or more measurement values ​​corresponding to the one or more terminals, the measurement values ​​being obtained by receiving the one or more responses; the one or more measurements are generated in response to the one or more responses, respectively; Each of the one or more measurements correlates to an assessment of communication quality between the terminal corresponding to the measurement and the monitoring device. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 1 .

4. the plurality of terminals includes the one or more terminals and one or more other terminals different from the one or more terminals, The one or more other measurement values ​​corresponding to the one or more other terminals are generated when the monitoring device fails to receive one or more other responses from the one or more other terminals in response to the request within a predetermined period of time, and indicate a communication quality evaluation lower than the one or more measurement values. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 3.

5. When a first measurement value corresponding to the first terminal is included in a first numerical range indicating that an evaluation of communication quality is lower than a first threshold, the abnormality information indicates that the abnormality has occurred in the first terminal. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 4.

6. When a second measurement value corresponding to a second terminal is included in a second numerical range indicating that an evaluation of communication quality is higher than the first threshold, the anomaly information indicates that the anomaly does not occur in the second terminal. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 5.

7. the plurality of terminals includes a plurality of first group terminals belonging to a first group; the plurality of first group terminals communicate with the monitoring device via a first communication device and the first communication path; When each of the plurality of first group measurement values ​​corresponding to the plurality of first group terminals is included in a third numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is lower than a second threshold, the abnormality information indicates that the abnormality has occurred in the first communication path. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 4.

8. the plurality of terminals further includes a plurality of second group terminals belonging to a second group; the plurality of second group terminals communicate with the monitoring device via second communication devices and second communication paths; When at least one of the plurality of second group measurement values ​​corresponding to the plurality of second group terminals is included in a fourth numerical range indicating that the evaluation of communication quality is higher than the second threshold, the abnormality information indicates that the abnormality does not occur in the second communication path. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 7.

9. Each of the one or more measurement values ​​is a response period from a first time when the monitoring device transmits the request to the terminal corresponding to the measurement value to a second time when the monitoring device receives a response transmitted by the terminal. The abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 3 to 8.

10. Each of the one or more responses includes a number of times the response is to be retransmitted by a terminal corresponding to the response; Each of the one or more measurement values ​​is the number of retransmissions included in the response corresponding to the measurement value. The abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 3 to 8.

11. Each of the one or more responses includes a number of errors that occurred in the transmission of the response by the terminal corresponding to the response; Each of the one or more measurements is the number of errors contained in the response corresponding to the measurement. The abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 3 to 8.

12. Each of the one or more measurement values ​​is the number of times the monitoring device retransmits the request to the terminal corresponding to the measurement value. The abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 3 to 8.

13. Each of the one or more measurement values ​​is the number of errors that occurred in the transmission of the request by the monitoring device to the terminal corresponding to the measurement value. The abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 3 to 8.

14. The first terminal in which the abnormality has occurred is displayed in the abnormality information in a display manner different from a display manner of other terminals in which the abnormality has not occurred, The first communication path in which the abnormality has occurred is displayed in the abnormality information in a display manner different from the display manner of the other communication paths in which the abnormality has not occurred. The abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

15. moreover, determining, based on group management information stored in the monitoring device, that the first group includes a first subgroup and a second subgroup; identifying a first tentative communication path corresponding to the first subgroup and a second tentative communication path corresponding to the second subgroup; When a second subgroup measurement value corresponding to a second subgroup terminal belonging to the second subgroup is greater than a first subgroup measurement value corresponding to a first subgroup terminal belonging to the first subgroup, the abnormality information indicates that the abnormality has occurred in the second tentative communication path. The abnormality monitoring method according to claim 7.

16. An abnormality monitoring system comprising a plurality of terminals and a monitoring device communicably connected to the plurality of terminals via a network, The monitoring device comprises: transmitting a request to the plurality of terminals via a plurality of communication paths between the monitoring device and the plurality of terminals; When each of the plurality of terminals receives the request from the monitoring device, the terminal transmits a response corresponding to the request to the monitoring device; The monitoring device comprises: receiving, by one or more terminals among the plurality of terminals, one or more responses respectively transmitted in response to the request; determining whether or not an abnormality has occurred in at least one of (i) a first terminal among the plurality of terminals and (ii) a first communication path among the plurality of communication paths, based on the one or more responses; If the abnormality occurs, generating abnormality information indicating that the abnormality occurs in at least one of the first terminal and the first communication path; Present the generated anomaly information Anomaly monitoring system.

17. A program for causing a computer to execute the abnormality monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.