Failure location–specifying device and method for specifying failure location

Abstract

A failure location–specifying device (10) has a specifying unit (15b) that uses information about users involved in communication during which a failure occurred to specify the route of the communication between the users. An identification unit (15c) uses warning information for network devices on the specified route to identify the location at which the failure occurred. When it is not possible to identify the location at which the failure occurred on the basis of the warning information, a determination unit (15d) uses interface information for the network devices on the route to identify the location at which the failure occurred.

Description

Fault location identification device and fault location identification method

[0001] The present invention relates to a fault location identification device and a fault location identification method.

[0002] There is known a technique for collecting alarm information from network devices using syslog, SNMP trap, etc., and for a monitoring person to identify a device failure (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] “The Syslog Protocol”, RFC5424, March 2009, pp.1-pp.38 “A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)”, May 1990, RFC1157, pp.1-pp.36

[0004] However, with conventional technology, it can be difficult to identify the location of a fault in a network. For example, in a network consisting of transfer devices and transmission devices, maintenance personnel for each device must work together to compare alarm information, which poses a problem of requiring operation to identify the location of the fault.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has as its object to make it possible to easily identify the location of a fault in a network.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the fault location identification device of the present invention is characterized by having an identification unit that identifies the route of the user's communication in which a failure has occurred using user information of the communication in which the failure has occurred, a determination unit that determines the location of the failure using alarm information related to network devices on the identified route, and a determination unit that determines the location of the failure using interface information of the network devices on the route when the location of the failure cannot be determined from the alarm information.

[0007] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to easily identify the location of a fault in a network.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the failure location identification device of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the failure location identification device of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general configuration of the failure location identification device of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the failure location identification processing of the failure location identification device. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the failure location identification processing of the failure location identification device. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the failure location identification processing of the failure location identification device. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the failure location identification processing procedure. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the failure location identification processing procedure. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes a failure location identification program.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] 1 and 2 are diagrams for explaining an overview of the fault location identification device of this embodiment. Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a network to be processed. As shown in Fig. 1, user communications are connected to a network to be monitored via communication devices in the end user's home, and are connected to a server via a transfer section, a transmission section, and network devices (NE, Network Element) in the transfer section, and various services are used.

[0011] Here, the user side is the A-end and the server side is the Z-end. That is, the transfer device in the monitored network connected from the communication device in the end user's home is the A-end NE (Network Element), and the transfer device in the monitored network connected to the communication device connected to the server is the Z-end NE. Also, the transmission section is connected to the transfer section via a transponder. That is, the A-end transmission device connected to the user-side transfer section and the Z-end transmission device connected to the server-side transfer section both have transponders.

[0012] The control unit 15 of the fault location identification device then identifies the location of the failure when the user's communication service becomes unavailable. Specifically, first, the route (transfer route and transmission route) taken by the user's communication is identified (FIG. 2(1)). In this case, the fault location identification device identifies the communication route by referring to a network information DB 14b that manages information about transfer devices and transmission devices collected in advance using an EMS (Element Management System) or a predetermined NE information collection function.

[0013] The control unit 15 of the fault location identification device then refers to the alarm information DB 14c that manages the alarm information of each network device (transfer device, transmission device) obtained from the EMS or NE / OpS (Operation System) (Figure 2 (2)), and if alarm information has occurred for a network device on the route, it identifies that network device as the fault location and outputs it (Figure 2 (3)).

[0014] On the other hand, if the location of the failure cannot be identified from the alarm information, the control unit 15 of the failure location identification device refers to interface (IF) information of the network devices on the route (FIG. 2(4)) to identify the location of the failure. Here, IF information refers to, for example, IF statistical information such as the number of packets and the number of octets in the forwarding device, or optical channel status such as optical intensity and transmission error rate in the transmission device. IF information includes input IF information on the input side to the network device and output IF information on the output side from the network device.

[0015] If the network devices at both ends of any given section are normal, their IF information should match. Therefore, if the IF information of the network devices at both ends of any given section does not match, the fault location identification device determines that an abnormality has occurred in that section, and by successively narrowing the range of network devices to be compared, identifies the fault location and outputs the identification result (Figure 2 (5)).

[0016] In this way, the fault location identification device can easily identify the location of a fault in a network without requiring cooperation from the maintenance personnel of each network device that constitutes the network.

[0017] [Configuration of the fault location identification device] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the general configuration of the fault location identification device of this embodiment. Figures 4 to 6 are diagrams for explaining the fault location identification process of the fault location identification device. First, as illustrated in Figure 3, the fault location identification device 10 of this embodiment is realized by a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer, and includes an input unit 11, an output unit 12, a communication control unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0018] The input unit 11 is realized using input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and inputs various instruction information such as a command to start processing to the control unit 15 in response to input operations by an operator. The output unit 12 is realized by a display device such as a liquid crystal display, a printing device such as a printer, etc. For example, the output unit 12 displays the results of the fault location identification processing described below.

[0019] The communication control unit 13 is realized by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like, and controls communication between the control unit 15 and external devices via telecommunication lines such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. For example, the communication control unit 13 controls communication between the control unit 15 and a management device or the like that manages various types of information.

[0020] The storage unit 14 is realized by a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk. The storage unit 14 stores in advance the processing programs that operate the fault location identification device 10, data used during the execution of the processing programs, and the like, or temporarily stores them each time processing is performed. The storage unit 14 may be configured to communicate with the control unit 15 via the communication control unit 13.

[0021] In this embodiment, the storage unit 14 stores a user information DB 14a, a network information DB 14b, an alarm information DB 14c, etc. This information is collected and stored in advance of the fault location identification process described below, or at predetermined intervals. Note that this information may also be implemented in a device external to the fault location identification device.

[0022] For example, the user information DB 14a includes information such as contract line information relating to contract users of the network service and VPN labels associated with the users.

[0023] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the network information DB 14b includes information about communications of each network device collected using the EMS or a predetermined NE information collection function. For example, the network information DB 14b stores communication flow information, connection relationship information, and the like. The communication flow information includes, for example, a timestamp, source / destination IP addresses, and the like for each communication. The connection relationship information includes, for example, information that can identify a network device on the communication path, information that can identify a transfer device or VPN group in the monitored network connected from the source communication device in the end user's home, and information about transmission devices in the transmission section. The network information DB 14b also includes information about the transmission route of each communication collected from the EMS and associated with a timestamp.

[0024] The network information DB 14b also includes IF information for each communication of each network device. As described above, the IF information is, for example, IF statistical information such as the number of packets and the number of octets in a transfer device, or optical channel conditions such as optical intensity and transmission error rate in a transmission device. The IF information includes input IF information on the input side to the network device and output IF information on the output side from the network device.

[0025] 2, the alarm information DB 14c stores alarm information related to each network device collected from the EMS, NE / OpS, etc. For example, the alarm information DB 14c includes information such as a timestamp indicating the time when the alarm occurred, a node identifier indicating the device where the alarm occurred, the location where the alarm occurred, and the type of alarm.

[0026] The control unit 15 is realized using a CPU (Central Processing Unit), NP (Network Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc., and executes processing programs stored in memory. As a result, the control unit 15 functions as an acquisition unit 15a, an identification unit 15b, a discrimination unit 15c, and a determination unit 15d, as exemplified in FIG. 3, and executes the fault location identification process. Note that these functional units may each be implemented in different hardware, or some of them may be implemented in different hardware. The control unit 15 may also include other functional units.

[0027] The acquisition unit 15a acquires user information of the communication to be processed, which is used in the failure location identification process described below. For example, the acquisition unit 15a acquires user information such as the time of the communication when the failure occurred and the user's contracted line information via the input unit 11 or the communication control unit 13. The acquisition unit 15a also refers to the user information DB 14a to acquire information such as a VPN label associated with the user.

[0028] The identifying unit 15b identifies the route of the communication of the user in which the failure occurred, using the user information of the communication in which the failure occurred. For example, the identifying unit 15b sequentially identifies the transfer route of the transfer section of the communication of the user, the basic path of the transmission section, and the transmission route.

[0029] Specifically, the identification unit 15b first identifies a transfer route for the transfer section of the user's communication, as illustrated in Fig. 4. For example, the identification unit 15b refers to the network information DB 14b using information such as a VPN label and time associated with the acquired user information, and identifies a transfer device through which the communication corresponding to the user passes, thereby identifying the transfer route of the communication. The transfer route identified here includes, for example, information on the A-end NE, information on the Z-end NE, and information on the NEs between them, as shown in Fig. 5(a).

[0030] Next, the identification unit 15b refers to the network information DB 14b and identifies the basic path of the transmission section corresponding to the identified transfer route, i.e., the transmission device that is the backbone of the transmission section between Osaka and Kyoto, etc. The identified basic transmission path here includes, for example, information on the A-end transmission device and the Z-end transmission device, as shown in FIG.

[0031] The identifying unit 15b then refers to the network information DB 14b to identify a transmission route corresponding to the identified basic transmission path. The identified transmission route includes, for example, information on the A-end transmission device and the Z-end transmission device, as well as information on the transmission devices therebetween, as shown in FIG. 5(c).

[0032] In this way, the identifying unit 15b identifies a network device on the communication route of the user where the failure has occurred.

[0033] The determination unit 15c determines the location of the failure using alarm information related to the network devices on the identified route. Specifically, the determination unit 15c refers to the alarm information DB 14c and extracts alarm information related to the network devices on the identified route. For example, the determination unit 15c refers to the alarm information DB 14c and searches and extracts alarm information for a node identifier that matches the node identifier of a network device on the identified route from the alarm information DB 14c. In this way, if alarm information has been issued, it is possible to easily check the alarm information without the need for operators in charge of the transfer section, transmission section, etc. to work together to compare the alarm information.

[0034] When the determination unit 15d cannot determine the location of the failure from the alarm information, the determination unit 15d determines the location of the failure using the interface information of the network devices on the identified route. For example, when there is no alarm information or when the determination unit 15d cannot identify the location of the failure from the alarm information, the determination unit 15d refers to the network information DB 14b and compares the IF information of each network device to determine the location of the failure.

[0035] Specifically, if the interface information of the network devices at both ends of any section of the network does not match, the judgment unit 15d judges that the fault exists inside the section. For example, if the IF information of the NE on the A-end NE side of any section and the IF information of the NE on the Z-end NE side are normal, they should match. Therefore, if the IF information of the NE on the A-end NE side and the IF information of the NE on the Z-end NE side do not match, the judgment unit 15d judges that the fault exists within this section.

[0036] The determination unit 15d narrows this section in order to identify the location of the failure. Specifically, first, it determines whether the local network is normal or not in the section from the A-end NE to the Z-end NE shown in Figure 6 (1). For example, if the IF information of the A-end NE and the Z-end NE matches, the determination unit 15d determines that the local network is normal. On the other hand, if the IF information of the A-end NE and the Z-end NE does not match, the determination unit 15d determines that there is an abnormality in the local network, and determines whether the transfer devices in the transfer section on the A-end side and the transfer section on the Z-end side are normal or not.

[0037] If there is an abnormality in the above section (1) and the transfer section on the A end side and the transfer section on the Z end side are normal between the transfer devices, the judgment unit 15d compares the IF information between the transfer devices in the section shown in Figure 6 (2) to determine whether it is normal or not, and distinguishes whether the fault is in the transfer section or the transmission section.

[0038] In addition, if an abnormality occurs in the above section (2), the judgment unit 15d compares IF information between the transfer device and the transmission device in the section shown in Figure 6 (3) to determine whether it is normal or not, and determines whether the fault is on the transfer device side or the transmission device side.

[0039] Furthermore, if the above section (3) is normal, the judgment unit 15d compares IF information between the transmission devices in the transmission section shown in Figure 6 (4) to judge whether it is normal or not, and identifies the location of the fault in the transmission section.

[0040] In this way, when the location of the fault cannot be identified using alarm information, by comparing the IF information, it is possible to discover silent failures that do not trigger an alarm, or to identify the root cause of the fault early on when a cascading alarm has been issued.

[0041] [Fault Location Identification Processing] Next, the fault location identification processing performed by the fault location identification device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the fault location identification processing. The flowchart in Fig. 7 starts, for example, when the user performs an operation input to instruct the start of the processing.

[0042] First, the acquisition unit 15a acquires the time of the communication in which the failure occurred and the user information (step S1).

[0043] Next, the identification unit 15b uses the acquired user information to identify the route of the user's communication (step S2). For example, the identification unit 15b refers to the network information DB 14b and sequentially identifies the transfer route of the transfer section of the user's communication, the basic path of the transmission section, and the transmission route.

[0044] Next, the determination unit 15c refers to the alarm information DB 14c and extracts alarm information related to the network devices on the identified route (step S3). If the fault location can be determined from the extracted alarm information (step S4, Yes), the determination result is output (step S7). This completes the series of fault location identification processes.

[0045] On the other hand, if there is no alarm information or if the location of the failure cannot be identified from the extracted alarm information (No in step S4), the determination unit 15d refers to the network information DB 14b, compares the IF information of each network device (step S5), and determines the location of the failure (step S6). The determination unit 15d also outputs the determination result, including the host name and physical interface of the determined failure location (step S7). This completes the series of failure location identification processes.

[0046] 8 illustrates the process of step S5 in detail. Specifically, the determination unit 15d compares the IF information of the NE on the A-end NE side with the IF information of the NE on the Z-end NE side in the section shown in FIG. 6(1) to confirm whether they match (step S51). If the IF information matches (step S51, Yes), the network is determined to be normal, and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the IF information does not match (step S51, No), the network is determined to have a fault, and the process proceeds to step S52.

[0047] In step S52, it is confirmed whether the IF information between the transfer devices in the transfer section on the A side matches. If the IF information matches (step S52, Yes), this section is determined to be normal, and the process proceeds to step S54. On the other hand, if the IF information does not match (step S52, No), it is determined that there is a fault in this section, and the process proceeds to step S53.

[0048] In the process of step 53, the section is narrowed in order to determine the location of the fault (step S6).

[0049] In step S54, it is confirmed whether the IF information between the transfer devices in the transfer section on the Z end side matches. If the IF information matches (step S54, Yes), this section is determined to be normal, and processing proceeds to step S55. On the other hand, if the IF information does not match (step S54, No), it is determined that there is a fault in this section, and processing proceeds to step S53, where the fault location in this section is determined (step S6).

[0050] In the process of step S55, the process of comparing IF information between transmission devices in the transmission section shown in FIG. 6(4) is repeated while narrowing the section, and the location of the fault in the transmission section is determined (step S6).

[0051] The determination unit 15d then outputs the determination result (step S7) and ends the series of processes.

[0052] [Effects] As described above, in the failure point identification device 10 of this embodiment, the identification unit 15b identifies the route of the user's communication in which a failure has occurred, using user information about the communication in which the failure has occurred. The determination unit 15c determines the location of the failure, using the alarm information DB 14c related to the network devices on the identified route. If the determination unit 15d cannot determine the location of the failure using the alarm information DB 14c, it determines the location of the failure, using interface information about the network devices on the route.

[0053] Specifically, the specifying unit 15b sequentially specifies the transfer route of the transfer section of the user's communication, the basic path of the transmission section, and the transmission route.

[0054] Furthermore, when the interface information of the network devices at both ends of any section of the network does not match, the determining unit 15d determines that the location of the failure is inside the section.

[0055] This makes it easy to identify the location of a fault in the network.

[0056] Specifically, in the past, the Syslog, SNMP trap, etc. of each device was used as alarm information, and the alarm information of each device was compared to identify the location of the failure. In other words, operators in charge of the transfer section, transmission section, etc. worked together to compare the alarm information of each device to identify the location of the failure, which required operation.

[0057] In contrast, with the fault location identification device 10 of this embodiment, if alarm information has been issued, operators in charge of the transfer section, transmission section, etc. do not need to work together to compare the alarm information, and the alarm information can be easily confirmed.

[0058] Furthermore, when the location of the fault cannot be identified using alarm information, by comparing IF information, it is possible to discover silent failures that do not trigger an alarm, or to identify the root cause of the fault early on when a cascading alarm has been issued.

[0059] [Program] A program can be created in which the processing executed by the fault location identification device 10 according to the above embodiment is written in a computer-executable language. In one embodiment, the fault location identification device 10 can be implemented by installing a fault location identification program that executes the above fault location identification processing as package software or online software on a desired computer. For example, by having an information processing device execute the above fault location identification program, the information processing device can function as the fault location identification device 10. The information processing device referred to here includes desktop and notebook personal computers. Other examples of information processing devices also include mobile communication terminals such as smartphones, mobile phones, and PHS (Personal Handyphone Systems), as well as slate terminals such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). The functions of the fault location identification device 10 may also be implemented on a cloud server.

[0060] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes a fault location identification program. The computer 1000 includes, for example, a memory 1010, a CPU 1020, a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070. These components are connected by a bus 1080.

[0061] The memory 1010 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1011 and a RAM 1012. The ROM 1011 stores a boot program such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to a hard disk drive 1031. The disk drive interface 1040 is connected to a disk drive 1041. A removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is inserted into the disk drive 1041. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to a mouse 1051 and a keyboard 1052, for example. The video adapter 1060 is connected to a display 1061, for example.

[0062] Here, the hard disk drive 1031 stores, for example, an OS (Operating System) 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. The various pieces of information described in the above embodiments are stored in the hard disk drive 1031 or the memory 1010, for example.

[0063] The fault location identification program is stored in the hard disk drive 1031, for example, as a program module 1093 in which commands to be executed by the computer 1000 are written. Specifically, the program module 1093 in which each process executed by the fault location device 10 described in the above embodiment is written is stored in the hard disk drive 1031.

[0064] Furthermore, data used for information processing by the failure location identification program is stored as program data 1094, for example, in the hard disk drive 1031. Then, the CPU 1020 reads the program module 1093 and program data 1094 stored in the hard disk drive 1031 into the RAM 1012 as necessary, and executes each of the above-described procedures.

[0065] The program module 1093 and program data 1094 related to the failure location identification program are not limited to being stored in the hard disk drive 1031, and may be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium and read by the CPU 1020 via the disk drive 1041. Alternatively, the program module 1093 and program data 1094 related to the failure location identification program may be stored in another computer connected via a network such as a LAN or a WAN (Wide Area Network), and read by the CPU 1020 via the network interface 1070.

[0066] Although the present invention has been described above as an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the description and drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention. In other words, other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques that can be made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention are all included in the scope of the present invention.

[0067] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Fault location identification device 11 Input unit 12 Output unit 13 Communication control unit 14 Storage unit 14a User information DB 14b Network information DB 14c Alarm information DB 15 Control unit 15a Acquisition unit 15b Identification unit 15c Discrimination unit 15d Determination unit

Claims

1. A fault location identification device comprising: an identification unit that identifies the route of a user's communication using user information for the communication in which a fault has occurred; a determination unit that determines the location of the fault using alarm information related to network devices on the identified route; and a determination unit that determines the location of the fault using interface information of network devices on the route when the location of the fault cannot be determined using the alarm information.

2. The fault location identification device according to claim 1, wherein said identification unit sequentially identifies the transfer route of the transfer section of the user's communication, the basic path of the transmission section, and the transmission route.

3. The fault location identification device according to claim 1, characterized in that the judgment unit judges that the fault is occurring inside any section of the network when the interface information of the network devices at both ends of that section does not match.

4. A fault location identification method executed by a fault location identification device, comprising: an identification step of identifying the route of a user's communication in which a failure has occurred, using user information about the communication; a determination step of determining the location of the failure, using alarm information related to network devices on the identified route; and a determination step of determining the location of the failure, using interface information about network devices on the route, when the location of the failure cannot be determined from the alarm information.

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