JP2008148106A - Monitoring device, and network management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly reliably monitoring device and a network management system by reducing a load on a network. <P>SOLUTION: The network management system includes: a plurality of slave apparatuses 30 connected to the network and having an SNMP agent function; and a master apparatus 20 connected to the network, having an SNMP manager function for managing the slave apparatuses 30, and working as an interface between the slave apparatuses a management device 10. The master apparatus 20 has the SNMP manager function for the plurality of slave apparatuses 30 and the SNMP manager function for the management device 10, and comprises: an acquiring part 142 for acquiring information of the plurality of slave apparatuses 30; a monitor part 146 for detecting the change of a prescribed state in each slave apparatus 30, based on the information; and a reporting part 148 for reporting the change to the management device 10 when the change of the prescribed state in the slave apparatus 30 is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring device and a network management system, and more particularly to a monitoring device and a network management system that monitor a plurality of devices on a network using the SNMP protocol.

In a TCP / IP network, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is known as a protocol for monitoring and controlling a communication device connected to the network via the network. The SNMP is composed of an SNMP agent to be controlled and an SNMP manager that manages the SNMP agent. The SNMP agent has a management information database called MIB (Management Information Base). As a conventional network management apparatus using SNMP, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1.
JP 2002-140242 A

  By the way, in recent years, the scale of networks has been increasing, and a large number of devices are connected to the network. When the number of devices to be managed becomes enormous, the number of packets exchanged on the network increases in proportion to the number of devices, and the load on the network also increases. In addition, device information to be managed increases on the SNMP manager software in proportion to the increase in devices to be managed, and management becomes difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable monitoring apparatus and network management system that reduces the load on the network.

According to the present invention, there is provided a monitoring device interposed between a plurality of devices having an SNMP agent function connected to a network and a management device having an SNMP manager function connected to the network and managing the plurality of devices. And
An SNMP manager function for the plurality of devices and an SNMP agent function for the management device;
An acquisition unit for acquiring information of the plurality of devices;
A detection unit that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device based on the information;
A monitoring device is provided that includes a notification unit that notifies a management device when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected.

  According to the present invention, the monitoring device that acquires information from a plurality of devices and notifies the management device only when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected is provided between the plurality of devices and the management device. The amount of communication between the device and the management device can be reduced, the load on the network can be reduced, and the reliability of network management is improved.

  In the monitoring apparatus, the acquisition unit can periodically acquire the information of the plurality of devices.

  The monitoring device may include a reception unit that receives an acquisition request for all the information on the plurality of devices from the management device, and the acquisition unit receives all the information on the plurality of devices in response to the acquisition request. Obtaining and the notifying unit can notify the management device of all the information of the plurality of devices acquired by the acquiring unit. It is also possible to designate a device from which all information is acquired from a plurality of devices on the network.

  In the monitoring apparatus, a selection receiving unit that receives selection of a state to be monitored for each device, and a setting unit that sets information on a device to be acquired corresponding to the state to be monitored for each device according to the selection A setting storage unit that stores the setting, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information of the plurality of devices according to the setting of the setting storage unit, and the detection unit acquires the detection unit The state to be monitored can be detected based on the information.

According to this configuration, necessary device information can be set, only necessary information can be acquired from a plurality of devices, and a change in a predetermined state of the device can be detected. Since it is not necessary to exchange packets for unnecessary device information between devices, the load on the network can be reduced. Further, since unnecessary information is not included in the management information, the information becomes clear and the reliability of network management is improved.
In the monitoring device, the notification unit can notify the management device of a change in the predetermined state of the plurality of devices by an SNMP trap, mail, or fax.

According to the present invention, a plurality of devices having an SNMP agent function connected to a network;
A management device having an SNMP manager function connected to the network;
A monitoring device connected to the network and interposed between the plurality of devices and the management device;
The monitoring device
Functions as an SNMP manager of the plurality of devices, and functions as an SNMP agent of the management device;
An acquisition unit for acquiring information of the plurality of devices;
A detection unit that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device based on the information;
A network management system is provided that includes a notification unit that notifies the management device when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected.

According to the present invention, a network management system comprising a plurality of devices connected to a network, and a management device that manages the plurality of devices,
A specific device out of the plurality of devices has an SNMP manager function as a parent device of the predetermined plurality of devices, and has an SNMP agent function for the management device,
The predetermined plurality of devices corresponding to the specific device have an SNMP agent function as a child device of the specific device,
The management device has an SNMP manager function,
The specific device is:
An acquisition unit for acquiring information on the predetermined plurality of devices;
A detection unit that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device based on the information;
A network management system is provided that includes a notification unit that notifies the management device when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the load of a network is reduced and the highly reliable monitoring apparatus and network management system are provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a network configuration of a network management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the network management system, a plurality of devices on the network 1 (parent devices 20a, 20b, hereinafter referred to as a parent device 20 for simplification, and child devices 30a, 30b, 30c,... 30), and the management apparatus 10 manages these devices.

  In FIG. 1, a hierarchical structure is shown to show the functional relationship of each device, but the connection structure between devices on the network 1 is not shown. The network 1 may be a combination of a plurality of LANs, WANs, the Internet, and the like. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of each device of the network management system of FIG.

  In the network management system of the present embodiment, the management apparatus 10 is used by a network administrator (hereinafter referred to as a user) and is, for example, a personal computer connected to the network 1 such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet. A display unit (not shown) and an operation unit (not shown) for monitoring information of a plurality of devices are provided. The parent device 20 and the child device 30 are, for example, a network scanner, an Internet facsimile machine, an MFP, a router, a hub, and a switch connected to the network 1 such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet. In addition, in each figure, the structure of the part which is not related to the essence of this invention is abbreviate | omitted.

  Each component of the network management system includes an arbitrary computer CPU, memory, a program for realizing the components shown in the figure loaded in the memory, a storage unit such as a hard disk for storing the program, and a network connection interface. It is realized by any combination of hardware and software. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that there are various modifications to the implementation method and apparatus. Each drawing described below shows a functional unit block, not a hardware unit configuration.

  The network management system of the present embodiment includes a plurality of devices (parent device 20 and child device 30) connected to the network 1, and a management apparatus 10 that manages a plurality of devices (parent device 20 and child device 30). A network management system provided with a plurality of predetermined devices (child devices 30a, 30b,...) From a plurality of devices (parent device 20 and child device 30) to a specific device (parent device 20a; 20b). 30c; an SNMP manager function (SNMP manager 26) as a parent device of the child devices 30d,... 30e), and an SNMP agent function (SNMP agent 22) for the management apparatus 10, and a specific device ( A plurality of predetermined devices (slave devices 30a, 30b,... 30c; corresponding to the parent devices 20a; 20b); 30e) has an SNMP agent function (SNMP agent 32) as a child device of a specific device (parent device 20a; 20b), and the management device 10 has an SNMP manager function (SNMP manager 12). The device (parent device 20a; 20b) is an acquisition unit (acquisition unit 142 in FIG. 2) that acquires information on a plurality of predetermined devices (child devices 30a, 30b,... 30c; child devices 30d,... 30e). ), And a detection unit (monitoring unit 146 in FIG. 2) that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device (child devices 30a, 30b,... 30c; child devices 30d,... 30e) based on the information, A notification unit (notification unit 148 in FIG. 2) that notifies the management apparatus 10 when a change in a predetermined state of the devices (child devices 30a, 30b,... 30c; child devices 30d,... 30e) is detected. , Including the.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the management device 10 includes an SNMP manager 12 having an SNMP manager function for the parent device 20. The parent device 20 includes an SNMP agent 22 having an agent function for the management apparatus 10, an MIB 24 that retains device information including a device state, and an SNMP manager 26 having a manager function for a plurality of child devices 30. The child device 30 includes an SNMP agent 32 having an agent function for the parent device 20, and an MIB 34 that holds device information including a device state.

  The parent device 20 and the child device 30 have each function by installing SNMP agent software or SNMP manager software. Each agent can specify which device is the manager, for example, by specifying the IP address of the target device. The manager can request information about the monitoring target device from the agent, and the agent can acquire the requested information and respond to the manager. In addition, the manager can request the agent to change the setting of the monitoring target device. The agent can perform the requested configuration change and return the result to the manager. Further, the manager can notify the manager of the status change of the monitored device.

  The management apparatus 10 monitors the device state of the parent device 20 to be monitored, and the parent device 20 monitors the device state of the child device 30 to be monitored. In the present embodiment, the device state to be monitored can be set, the state is monitored only for the set device state, and a notification is given when the state changes.

  The network management system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of devices (slave devices 30) having an SNMP agent function connected to the network 1, a management device 10 having an SNMP manager function connected to the network 1, A monitoring device (parent device 20) connected to the network 1 and interposed between the plurality of devices (child device 30) and the management device 10, and the monitoring device (parent device 20) includes a plurality of devices (child devices). 30) and an SNMP agent of the management apparatus 10, and an acquisition unit (acquisition unit 142 in FIG. 2) for acquiring information on a plurality of devices (child devices 30), and each device based on the information A detection unit (monitoring unit 146 in FIG. 2) that detects a change in a predetermined state of the (child device 30), and a change in the predetermined state of the device (the child device 30). When knowledge, including notifying unit notifies the management apparatus 10 (the notification unit 148 of FIG. 2), a.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the management apparatus 10 includes a setting screen display unit 102, a setting reception unit 104, a setting unit 106, a reception unit 110, a device information storage unit 112, and a device information display unit 114. Prepare. The parent device 20 includes a setting receiving unit 130, a setting unit 132, a setting storage unit 134, a timing unit 140, an acquisition unit 142, a device information storage unit 144, a monitoring unit 146, a notification unit 148, and a reception unit. Unit 160, transmission unit 162, and MIB 24. The slave device 30 includes a reception unit 180, an extraction unit 182, a transmission unit 184, and a MIB 34.

  In the management apparatus 10, the setting screen display unit 102 displays a screen for setting device information of a plurality of devices (the parent device 20 and the child device 30) on the network 1 on a display unit such as a CRT monitor or a liquid crystal display (not shown). indicate.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring item setting screen 200 for setting monitoring items for each device, which is displayed on the setting screen display unit 102 of the management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The monitoring item setting screen 200 includes a setting field 202, a setting button 210, and a cancel button 212. The contents set in the setting column 202 are confirmed when the setting button 210 is operated, the setting contents are notified from the management apparatus 10 to the parent device 20 and the child device 30, and the device information of the items to be monitored is displayed for each device. Is set. When the cancel button 212 is operated, the setting contents are canceled. The setting column 202 includes a device name 204 and a plurality of monitoring items 206 for each device. Each monitoring item 206 is provided with a check box 208, and a monitoring item can be set by checking an item that needs to be monitored.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the setting reception unit 104 receives an operation instruction from an operation unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a tablet (not shown). The setting reception unit 104 receives a setting operation on the monitoring item setting screen 200 in FIG. 4 and notifies the setting unit 106 of the setting operation. The setting unit 106 receives a setting instruction from the setting receiving unit 104 and notifies the parent device 20 of the monitoring item set on the monitoring item setting screen 200.

  The receiving unit 110 receives device information of a plurality of parent devices 20 and child devices 30 from the parent device 20 via the network 1. The receiving unit 110 stores the received device information in the device information storage unit 112. The device information display unit 114 displays the device information stored in the device information storage unit 112 on the screen.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device information notification screen 230 of the plurality of child devices 30 and the parent device 20 on the network 1 displayed on the device information display unit 114 of the management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The device information notification screen 230 includes a device name 232, failure information 234, and failure occurrence date / time 236. In FIG. 5, only the information of the device in which the failure has occurred is displayed, but the present invention is not limited to this. Information on all devices can also be displayed. These pieces of information can be printed out. When a failure occurs, it can be printed at any time, and a history report can be output periodically. It is also possible to send mail to a predetermined destination.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the request unit 120 receives an instruction from the user, and requests the parent device 20 and the child device 30 via the network 1 to provide device information according to the instruction.

  In the monitoring apparatus (parent device 20) of the present embodiment, a selection receiving unit (setting receiving unit 130) that receives a selection of a state to be monitored for each device (child device 30), and each device (child device 30) according to the selection. Can include a setting unit 132 that sets information on a device (child device 30) to be acquired in response to a state to be monitored, and a setting storage unit 134 that stores the setting. Information on a plurality of devices (slave devices 30) is acquired according to the settings in the setting storage unit 134, and the detection unit (monitoring unit 146) can detect a state to be monitored based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 142. .

  In the parent device 20, the setting reception unit 130 receives the monitoring item set for each device from the management apparatus 10 via the network 1 and notifies the setting unit 132 of the monitoring item. The setting unit 132 stores the monitoring item notified from the setting receiving unit 130 in the setting storage unit 134. When the setting of the monitoring item stored in the setting storage unit 134 is changed, the setting unit 132 requests the acquisition unit 142 to acquire device information.

  The timer unit 140 periodically measures time for collecting device information of a plurality of devices, and notifies the acquisition unit 142 of the collection timing of the device information. The acquisition unit 142 polls the slave device 30 via the network 1 to request device information at the collection timing from the time measuring unit 140 or when receiving a device information collection request from the management device 10.

  The device information storage unit 144 stores the device information collected by the acquisition unit 142 for each device. The device information storage unit 144 stores at least the data collected last time and the data collected this time. The monitoring unit 146 monitors whether or not the device information stored in the device information storage unit 144 has changed in a predetermined state for the monitoring item set in the setting storage unit 134. For example, the monitoring unit 146 monitors whether or not the printer has run out of paper, toner, paper jam, or the like. In addition, the monitoring unit 146 reads out device information of the parent device 20 itself from the MIB 24 and monitors whether there is a change in a predetermined state.

  The notification unit 148 notifies the management device 10 via the network 1 when the monitoring unit 146 detects that a predetermined state has changed. The notification unit 148 can notify which state is detected by which device and the failure detection time. The notification unit 148 can notify the management apparatus 10 via the network 1 using an SNMP trap. Further, in another embodiment, the parent device 20 can notify a predetermined destination of detection of a change in a predetermined state by mail or facsimile communication. In these cases, the management apparatus 10 includes a mail receiving unit and a facsimile receiving unit (not shown).

  The accepting unit 160 receives an information collection request from the management apparatus 10 via the network 1. The reception unit 160 causes the acquisition unit 142 to collect all device information of a plurality of devices and stores the device information in the device information storage unit 144. After the reception unit 160 receives the information collection request, the transmission unit 162 reads out the device information collected by the acquisition unit 142 and stored in the device information storage unit 144 from the device information storage unit 144, and connects the network 1 to the management apparatus 10. Send through.

  In the slave device 30, the reception unit 180 receives an information collection request from the parent device 20 via the network 1 and instructs the extraction unit 182. The extraction unit 182 extracts and reads out necessary information from the MIB 34 in response to the information collection request received by the reception unit 180. The device information read by the extraction unit 182 is transmitted to the transmission unit 184.

  The operation of the network management system of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the network management system of the present embodiment. This will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  First, in the management apparatus 10 of FIG. 2, the monitoring item setting screen 200 (FIG. 4) is displayed on the setting screen display unit 102 (S1). Then, when the user operates the monitoring item setting screen 200 (FIG. 4) to set the monitoring item, the setting receiving unit 104 receives and notifies the setting unit 106 (S3). The setting unit 106 notifies the monitoring item to the parent device 20 via the network 1 (S5).

  In the parent device 20, the setting receiving unit 130 receives the monitoring item from the management apparatus 10, and the setting unit 132 updates the setting content in the setting storage unit 134 (S21). Then, according to the information collection timing from the time measuring unit 140, the notification unit 148 requests the child device 30 via the network 1 for information on the device corresponding to the monitoring item set periodically (S23). In the slave device 30, the reception unit 180 receives the request, and the extraction unit 182 extracts the requested information from the MIB 34 (S41). Then, the transmission unit 184 transmits device information to the parent device 20 via the network 1 (S43).

  In the parent device 20, the acquisition unit 142 receives device information from the child device 30 via the network 1, and stores the device information in the device information storage unit 144 (S25). The monitoring unit 146 monitors whether or not a change has occurred in a predetermined state of the monitoring information stored in the setting storage unit 134 for the device information stored in the device information storage unit 144. In the case (YES in S27), the notification unit 148 notifies the management apparatus 10 via the network 1 (S29). In the management device 10, the receiving unit 110 receives a notification from the parent device 20 (S7). The device information received when the notification is received is stored in the device information storage unit 112. Then, a device information notification screen 230 (FIG. 5) is displayed on the device information display unit 114 to notify the user of the device in which the failure has occurred (S9).

  As described above, according to the network management system of the embodiment of the present invention, when information is acquired from a plurality of devices (parent device 20 and child device 30) and a change in a predetermined state of the device is detected. Since the monitoring device (parent device 20) for notifying only the management device 10 is provided between the plurality of devices (child device 30) and the management device 10, the amount of communication between the plurality of devices (parent device 20) and the management device 10 And the load on the network 1 can be reduced, and the reliability of network management is improved.

  In addition, since necessary device information can be set, only necessary information can be acquired from a plurality of devices (parent device 20), and a change in a predetermined state of the device can be detected. Since it is not necessary to exchange packets for unnecessary device information between the parent device 20 and the child device 30) and the management apparatus 10, the load on the network 1 can be reduced. Further, since unnecessary information is not included in the management information, the information becomes clear and the reliability of network management is improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are the illustrations of this invention, Various structures other than the above are also employable.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the parent device 20 itself detects a change in a predetermined state of the device information of the parent device 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the management apparatus 10 may be provided with a detection unit that periodically polls the parent device 20 to acquire specific device information from the parent device 20 and detects a change in a predetermined state.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the network structure of the network management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of each apparatus of the network management system of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the network management system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the monitoring item setting screen for setting a monitoring item for every apparatus in the management apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the apparatus information notification screen of the some sub apparatus on a network in the management apparatus of this embodiment, and a main apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Network 10 Management Device 12 SNMP Manager 20 Parent Device 22 SNMP Agent 24 MIB
26 SNMP manager 30 Child device 32 SNMP agent 34 MIB
102 setting screen display unit 104 setting receiving unit 106 setting unit 110 receiving unit 112 device information storage unit 114 device information display unit 120 request unit 130 setting receiving unit 132 setting unit 134 setting storage unit 140 timing unit 142 acquisition unit 144 device information storage unit 146 Monitoring unit 148 Notification unit 160 Reception unit 162 Transmission unit 180 Reception unit 182 Extraction unit 184 Transmission unit 200 Monitoring item setting screen 202 Setting column 204 Device name 206 Monitoring item 208 Check box 210 Setting button 212 Cancel button 230 Device information notification screen 232 Device name 234 Failure information 236 Failure occurrence date and time

Claims (7)

A monitoring device interposed between a plurality of devices having an SNMP agent function connected to a network and a management device having an SNMP manager function connected to the network and managing the plurality of devices,
An SNMP manager function for the plurality of devices and an SNMP agent function for the management device;
An acquisition unit for acquiring information of the plurality of devices;
A detection unit that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device based on the information;
A monitoring device comprising: a notification unit that notifies a management device when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected. The monitoring device according to claim 1,
The acquisition unit is a monitoring device that periodically acquires the information of the plurality of devices. The monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2,
Including a receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for all information of the plurality of devices from the management device;
The acquisition unit acquires all information of the plurality of devices in response to the acquisition request,
The said notification part is a monitoring apparatus which notifies the said management apparatus of all the said information of the said some apparatus acquired by the said acquisition part. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A selection accepting unit that accepts selection of a state to be monitored for each device;
In accordance with the selection, a setting unit that sets information on a device to be acquired corresponding to the state to be monitored for each device;
A setting storage unit for storing the setting,
The acquisition unit acquires information of the plurality of devices according to the setting of the setting storage unit,
The detection unit is a monitoring device that detects the state to be monitored based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The notification unit is a monitoring device that notifies the management device of a change in the predetermined state of the plurality of devices by an SNMP trap, mail, or fax. A plurality of devices having an SNMP agent function connected to a network;
A management device having an SNMP manager function connected to the network;
A monitoring device connected to the network and interposed between the plurality of devices and the management device;
The monitoring device
Functions as an SNMP manager of the plurality of devices, and functions as an SNMP agent of the management device;
An acquisition unit for acquiring information of the plurality of devices;
A detection unit that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device based on the information;
A network management system comprising: a notification unit that notifies the management device when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected. A network management system comprising a plurality of devices connected to a network, and a management device that manages the plurality of devices,
A specific device out of the plurality of devices has an SNMP manager function as a parent device of the predetermined plurality of devices, and has an SNMP agent function for the management device,
The predetermined plurality of devices corresponding to the specific device have an SNMP agent function as a child device of the specific device,
The management device has an SNMP manager function,
The specific device is:
An acquisition unit for acquiring information on the predetermined plurality of devices;
A detection unit that detects a change in a predetermined state of each device based on the information;
A network management system comprising: a notification unit that notifies the management device when a change in the predetermined state of the device is detected.

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