JP2000031998A - Network system, management system and management method for network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely revise a version of a firmware of each network system without the need for a huge work time. SOLUTION: The system is provided with a packet transmission reception section 1 that sends periodically a multiple address packet including information of a firmware of its own network system to a local area network and receives a multiple address packet sent from other network system, a packet analysis section 2 that gives an instruction to transfer file data of the firmware of the network system being a sender only when the received multiple address packet is a newest version of the firmware corresponding to its own network system, and a file transfer control section 5 that receives the file transfer instruction and allows the file data of the firmware of the corresponding network system to be transferred to its own network system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a LAN (Local Ar
The present invention relates to a network device, such as a hub or a switch, for connecting an ea Network) to a terminal device, and more particularly to a network device capable of upgrading firmware. Further, the present invention relates to a management method and a management method for a network in which a plurality of such network devices are connected to a LAN.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a network device has a LAN interface, and connects a plurality of terminals to a LAN. The network device includes a processor, a memory, and the like, and has a function of performing communication between terminal devices via a LAN. In such a network device, when a latest function is installed or a function is updated, a version of firmware for operating the network device is upgraded. Hereinafter, a technique for upgrading the firmware version of each network device in a network in which a plurality of network devices connected to a plurality of terminals are connected to a LAN will be described.

[0003] In a network in which a plurality of network devices connected to a plurality of terminals are connected to a LAN, the following two methods are known for upgrading the firmware of each network device.

(1) RS-23 for each network device
How to upgrade the firmware version via a serial interface such as 2C (2) File transfer server (Boot) on the network
a method of installing a new version of firmware from the file transfer server to each network device. In addition to the above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-200241 discloses that a plurality of network devices are provided by using a maintenance terminal device. A method of downloading a (hub device) is disclosed. FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a network using the download method.

[0005] This network has a LAN 104
Hub devices 101 connected to ₁~ 101_nAnd ha
Device 101₁With the maintenance terminal device 104 connected to
I do. Each hub device 101₁~ 101_nIs a note
Re 102₁~ 102_nIs provided. The structure of this network
In the configuration, the maintenance terminal device 103 is the hub device 101₁Notes
Re 102₁When download data is set to
Place 101₁Is the memory 102₁Download set to
Reads data, adds a common address to it, and blows
The packet is transmitted on the LAN 104 as a broadcast packet.
Other hub device 101₂~ 101_nIs the LAN 104
Receives the broadcast packet transmitted above and
Data and extract 102₁~ 102_nSet to.
This simplifies downloading multiple hub devices.
Can be

[0006]

However, each of the above-mentioned prior arts has the following problems.

In the method of upgrading the firmware version for each network device via a serial interface such as RS-232C, it is necessary to perform the version upgrade while confirming the firmware version for each network device. When the number of network devices is large, there is a problem that an enormous work time is required.

In a method of installing a file transfer server on a network, an SNMP (Simple Network Man) is used.
agement Protocol) MIB (Manageme)
Since there is no other way but to check the firmware version of each network device individually via an information base (nt information base), there is a problem that a huge amount of work time is required when the number of network devices is large as in the above case.

In the download method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-200241, data is simultaneously read from a network device on the transmission side to another network device. Version is not checked. Therefore, when an old version of firmware is erroneously set in the transmitting network device, there is a problem that the set old version of firmware is downloaded to each network device.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a network device and a network management system which can easily and surely upgrade the firmware version of each network device without increasing the work time. And management methods.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a management system of the present invention, in a network device connected to a local area network, information of firmware set in the own network device is transmitted in the form of a packet. A broadcast packet for simultaneous transmission to other network devices connected to the local area network is periodically transmitted on the local area network, and a broadcast packet transmitted from the other network device is simultaneously transmitted. A packet transmitting / receiving means for receiving the broadcast packet, and analyzing the broadcast packet received by the packet transmitting / receiving means. If the broadcast packet is the latest version information of the firmware corresponding to the own network device, , The network device that sent the broadcast packet Packet analysis means for transferring the firmware file data to the own network device, and discarding the broadcast packet if the information is not the latest version information; and a file transfer instruction from the packet analysis means. Receiving the file data of the firmware of the corresponding network device to the own network device.

In the above case, the broadcast packet indicates a manufacturer number for specifying the manufacturer, a device model number indicating the model number of the transmission source device, and a firmware version number of the transmission source device. A firmware version number, wherein the packet analysis means has a manufacturer number and a device model number of the received broadcast packet that match those of the own network device, and the firmware version number is that of the own network device. In a case where the received broadcast packet is newer, the transmission source network device of the received broadcast packet may be configured to issue an instruction to transfer the firmware file data to the own network device.

The firmware storage means for temporarily storing the file data of the firmware transferred under the control of the file transfer control means, and the firmware storage means when the own network device is reset or restarted by turning on the power again. Main memory means for taking in the stored firmware file data may be further provided.

A management system according to the present invention includes a plurality of the above network devices, each of which is connected to a local area network, and a broadcast packet is transmitted and received between the network devices. It is characterized by comprising.

[0015] The management method of the present invention is a management method of a network in which a plurality of network devices are connected via a local area network, wherein each of the plurality of network devices includes information on firmware set in its own network device. Broadcast packet to be simultaneously transmitted to another network device in the form of a packet on the local area network, and the broadcast packet received from the other network device is automatically transmitted. Only when the information is the latest version of the firmware corresponding to the network device, downloads the file data of the firmware of the network device which has transmitted the broadcast packet,
Otherwise, the broadcast packet is discarded.

In the above case, as the broadcast packet, a manufacturer number for specifying the manufacturer, a device model number indicating the model number of the transmission source device, and a firmware version indicating the version number of the firmware of the transmission source device A packet having at least a number is transmitted, the manufacturer number and the device model number of the received broadcast packet match those of the own network device, and
When the firmware version number is newer than that of the own network device, the file data of the firmware may be downloaded from the network device that has transmitted the received broadcast packet.

(Operation) In the present invention as described above, when the firmware of one of the network devices is upgraded, information (such as version information) of the firmware is simultaneously transmitted from the network device to another network device. Then, the firmware of the other network device is updated to the latest version. Therefore, even when the number of network devices is large, it is possible to easily update the firmware to the latest version, and it is not necessary to perform an enormous amount of time for the update work as in the related art.

Further, according to the present invention, a network device that has received firmware information from another network device only needs to update the received firmware information if it is the latest version of the firmware corresponding to its own network device. The firmware file data is downloaded from the network device that has transmitted the firmware information. Therefore, in the present invention, a firmware version older than the current firmware version is not downloaded.

[0019]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network device according to the present embodiment includes:
It comprises a packet transmission / reception unit 1, a packet analysis unit 2, a firmware storage unit 3, a main memory 4, and a file transfer control unit 5, and these units are connected to a control signal bus 6 and a data bus 7, respectively.

The packet transmitting / receiving unit 1 transmits / receives a broadcast packet via a LAN interface. The transmitted / received broadcast packet is a packet on the LAN having the same structure, and includes a destination address, a source address, a protocol type, a manufacturer number, a device model number, and a firmware version number. FIG. 2 shows an example of the packet format of the broadcast packet. The broadcast packet includes a destination address (for example, a broadcast address) indicating the broadcast address in order from the top of the packet.
A broadcast address which is all "1" in binary), a source address indicating a source, and a protocol type storing information indicating that this packet is a broadcast packet for exchanging version information. , A manufacturer number, a device model number indicating the model number of the transmission source device, and a firmware version number indicating the firmware version number of the transmission source device.

The packet analysis unit 2 includes a packet transmission / reception unit 1
Analyzes the configuration of the packet received by the, gives an instruction to download from the source network device,
Alternatively, the received packet is discarded. In particular,
The packet analysis unit 2 checks whether the manufacturer number and the device model number of the received packet are the same as the own device, and if both are the same, then checks whether the firmware version number is newer than the own device. When the new number is found, the file transfer control unit 5 is instructed to download the firmware from the transmission source network device. If the manufacturer number and device model number of the received packet do not match, or if the manufacturer number and device model number match but the firmware version number of the received packet is not a new number, the received packet is discarded.

The firmware storage unit 3 temporarily stores firmware for operating the network device. Here, the firmware transferred under the control of the file transfer control unit 5 is stored. The main memory 4 is a memory used when the network device actually operates. For example, when the network device is reset or restarted by turning on the power again, the firmware once stored in the firmware storage unit 3 is loaded. It is.

The file transfer control unit 5 downloads information about the firmware from the transmission source network device in response to a download instruction from the packet analysis unit 2. Techniques for transferring firmware from a transmission source network device include widely known ftp (Fi
le Transfer Protocol) technology.

Next, the firmware update processing of this network device will be described.

FIG. 3 shows an example of connection by the network device of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, each network device 1
0a to 10d are the same as those shown in FIG.
They are connected to each other by a network cable via a LAN interface. Each network device 10a
Broadcast packets 11 and 12 transmitted and received by
Is a packet on the LAN having the structure shown in FIG. Broadcast packets are periodically (for example, every 30 minutes) transmitted and received between the network devices 10a to 10d in order to exchange version information with each other. Here, the update of the firmware in the network device 10a that has received the broadcast packet 12 from the network device 10b in the network shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the broadcast packet 12 is transmitted from the network device 10b onto the LAN, the transmitted broadcast packet 12 is transmitted to the network device 10a.
The data is received by the packet transmitting / receiving unit 1 via the AN interface, and the received data is passed to the packet analyzing unit 2 via the data bus 7 (step S10). The packet analyzer 2 that has received the received data performs the following processing.

First, the protocol type of the received packet is checked, and it is checked whether the received packet is a version information exchange packet (step S11). For example,
Numeric value indicating that this is a version information exchange packet is 1
If the hexadecimal number is "AA", the protocol type is "A".
If "A", the received packet is determined to be a version information exchange packet. If the protocol type is not "AA", the received packet is determined to not be a version information exchange packet.

In step S11, if the received packet is not a version information exchange packet, the received packet is discarded (step S16). If the received packet is a version information exchange packet, the received packet manufacturer It is checked whether the number matches the manufacturer number of the own network device (step S12).
For example, the manufacturer number of the own network device 10a is 1
Assuming that the hexadecimal number is "01", if the value of the manufacturer number of the received packet is "01", it is determined that the manufacturer numbers match, and otherwise, the manufacturer numbers do not match. Is determined.

If it is determined in step S12 that the manufacturer number of the received packet does not match the manufacturer number of the network device 10a, the received packet is discarded in step S16. If it matches the manufacturer number of the own network device 10a, it is checked whether the device model number of the received packet matches the device model number of the own network device 10a (step S13). For example, assuming that the device model number of the own network device 10a is "12345" in hexadecimal, if the value of the device model number of the received packet is "12345", it is determined that the device model numbers match. It is determined that the model numbers do not match.

If the device model number of the received packet does not match the device model number of the own network device 10a in step S13, the received packet is discarded in step S16, and the device model number of the received packet is If it matches the device model number of the network device 10a, it is checked whether the version number of the received packet is newer than the version number of the own network device 10a (step S14). For example, when it is assumed that the larger the numerical value of the version number is, the newer the version number of the received packet is, for example, the version number of the own network device 10a is “1.0” and the version number of the received packet is “2.0” If the value is larger, it is determined that the version number of the received packet is newer. Conversely, if the value of the version number of the received packet is smaller, it is determined that the version number of the received packet is older.

If it is determined in step S14 that the version number of the received packet is older than the version number of the own network device 10a, the process proceeds to step S16.
Performs a process of discarding the received packet, and when it is determined that the version number of the received packet is newer than the version number of the own network device 10a, subsequently, an instruction to transfer firmware from the network device 10b is sent to the control signal. File transfer control unit 5 via bus 6
(Step S15).

In step S15, the packet analysis unit 2
Sends an instruction to transfer the firmware from the network device 10b.
Of the firmware to the own network device 10a is started. When the firmware is transferred to the own network device 10 a by the file transfer control unit 5, the transferred firmware is temporarily stored in the firmware storage unit 3. After that, when the network device 10a is manually reset or the power is turned on again to restart the network device 10a, the firmware stored in the firmware storage unit 3 is read into the main memory 4.

As described above, the network device 10
After the new version of the firmware is read from the main memory 4 into the main memory 4 of the network device 10a, the network device 10a starts up according to the firmware read into the main memory 4.

The network devices 10b to 10d also download new versions of firmware from other network devices and store them in the main memory 4 in the same manner as the firmware update in the network device 10a described above.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the version of the firmware of one of the network devices is upgraded, the firmware of the remaining network devices is automatically upgraded.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By simply updating the firmware of one network device, the firmware of the other network device is automatically updated, so that the network can be managed without the intervention of a network administrator, and the number of network devices can be reduced. Even if the number is large, there is an effect that the firmware can be easily updated to the latest version in a short working time.

Further, in the present invention, since the firmware information received from another network device is downloaded only when it is the latest version information of the firmware corresponding to the own network device, the firmware is downloaded from the current firmware version. An older version of the firmware can be prevented from being downloaded, and a higher quality update process can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a broadcast packet.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection by the network device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a packet analysis unit of the network device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network using a download method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-200241.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 packet transmission / reception unit 2 packet analysis unit 3 firmware storage unit 4 main memory 5 file transfer control unit 6 control signal bus 7 data bus

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04L 12/56 H04L 11/20 102A

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a network device connected to a local area network, information on firmware set in the local network device is simultaneously transmitted to other network devices connected to the local area network in the form of a packet. A packet transmitting / receiving means for periodically transmitting a broadcast packet for transmission on the local area network, and receiving a broadcast packet transmitted from another network device; and When the broadcast packet is the latest version information of the firmware corresponding to the own network device, the file data of the firmware of the network device which transmitted the broadcast packet is automatically read. Switch to network device If the information is not the latest version information, packet analysis means for discarding the broadcast packet, and receiving a file transfer instruction from the packet analysis means, A network device comprising: file transfer control means for transferring file data to the own network device. 2. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast packet includes a manufacturer number for specifying a manufacturer, a device model number indicating a model number of a transmission source device, and a transmission source device. At least a firmware version number indicating the version number of the firmware of the device, wherein the packet analysis means matches the manufacturer number and the device model number of the received broadcast packet with those of the own network device, and A network for issuing, when the version number is newer than that of the own network device, an instruction to transfer firmware file data from the source network device of the received broadcast packet to the own network device; apparatus. 3. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the firmware storage means for temporarily storing the file data of the firmware transferred under the control of the file transfer control means, and when the network device itself is reset or the power is turned on again. And a main memory unit for loading the file data of the firmware stored in the firmware storage unit when restarting the network device. 4. A plurality of network devices according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of network devices is connected to a local area network, and a broadcast packet is transmitted and received between the network devices. A network management method characterized by being configured as follows. 5. A method for managing a network in which a plurality of network devices are connected via a local area network, wherein each of the plurality of network devices transmits information of firmware set in its own network device in the form of a packet. A broadcast packet for simultaneous transmission to another network device is periodically transmitted on the local area network, and a broadcast packet received from another network device corresponds to the own network device. Only when the information is the latest version of the firmware, the file data of the firmware of the network device which sent the broadcast packet is downloaded, and otherwise, the broadcast packet is discarded. Network management . 6. The network management method according to claim 5, wherein the broadcast packet includes a manufacturer number for specifying a manufacturer, a device model number indicating a model number of a transmission source device, and a transmission source device. A packet having at least a firmware version number indicating the firmware version number of the device is transmitted, and the manufacturer number and device model number of the received broadcast packet match those of the own network device, and the firmware version A network management method, characterized in that when the number is newer than that of its own network device, firmware file data is downloaded from the network device of the transmission source of the received broadcast packet.