JP2010045582A - Optical communication apparatus, and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical communication apparatus which more hardly fails and can be used for a longer time than heretofore. <P>SOLUTION: In data transmission, a laser operating time measurement circuit 13 and a laser current reading circuit 14 measure values of drive time and output current of laser beams outputted by the respective optical modules 11, respectively. Then, a laser service life calculation circuit 15 calculates the remaining service life of the lasers of the respective optical modules 11 based on the measured values. Then, a control circuit 12 preferentially uses from an optical module 11 with the longest remaining service life of the laser for data transmission to stop output of lasers of optical modules 11 which do not contribute to transmission. Thus, no specific optical module 11 is disproportionately utilized, service life of the respective optical modules 11 is averaged, and time until the optical modules 11 result in failures is prolonged to the maximum extent. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical communication device and a communication method.

  There is an optical communication apparatus that can perform communication with redundancy by providing a plurality of optical modules (for example, Patent Document 1).

In such an optical communication device, for example, when the amount of communication data is large, all the optical modules are driven for communication, and when the amount of communication data is small, only a specific optical module is driven for communication. As a result, it is possible to save power in the entire apparatus.
JP 2007-306213 A

  However, in the above-described optical communication apparatus, only a specific optical module has a longer driving time, and there is a possibility that the optical communication apparatus may fail earlier than other optical modules due to deterioration due to driving. When a specific optical module fails, even if other optical modules are normal, it is regarded as a failure of the entire optical communication device and becomes unusable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical communication device and a communication method that are less likely to break down and can be used for a long time.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical communication apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention provides:
An optical communication device that transmits and receives data to and from other devices connected by an optical transmission method,
A plurality of optical modules for transmitting and receiving the data;
Laser driving time measuring means for measuring the driving time of the laser for data transmission output from each of the plurality of optical modules and for which a threshold value of output current is set;
Laser current measuring means for measuring the value of the output current of the laser;
Based on the laser driving time measured by the laser driving time measuring means, the value of the laser output current measured by the laser current measuring means, and the threshold value of the output current, the remaining life of the laser of each optical module is determined. A laser lifetime calculating means for calculating;
Discriminating means for discriminating an optical module for performing data transmission processing based on the laser remaining life calculated by the laser life calculating means and the communication amount of transmission data;
Laser off means for controlling the laser output of an optical module other than the optical module determined to cause the data transmission processing by the determination means to be off;
Data transmitting means for causing the optical module determined to perform data transmission processing by the determining means to perform data transmission processing;
It is characterized by providing.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication method according to the second aspect of the present invention includes:
A communication method of an optical communication device comprising a plurality of optical modules, wherein the optical module transmits and receives data to and from other devices connected by an optical transmission method.
A laser driving time measuring step for measuring a driving time of a laser for data transmission output from each of the plurality of optical modules and for which a threshold value of an output current is set;
A laser current measuring step for measuring a value of an output current of the laser;
Based on the laser drive time measured in the laser drive time measurement step, the laser output current value measured in the laser current measurement step, and the output current threshold, the remaining life of the laser of each optical module is determined. A laser life calculation step to calculate;
A determination step of determining an optical module that performs data transmission processing based on the remaining laser lifetime calculated in the laser lifetime calculation step and the communication amount of transmission data;
A laser off step for controlling off the output of the laser of the optical module other than the optical module determined to cause the data transmission processing in the determination step;
A data transmission step for causing the optical module determined to perform data transmission processing in the determination step to perform data transmission processing;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, when data is transmitted, the optical module having a long remaining lifetime of the laser is preferentially used, so that the lifetime of the optical module can be averaged. Therefore, it can be prevented to some extent that only a specific optical module fails due to deterioration due to driving, and the optical communication apparatus is less likely to fail than before and can be used for a long time.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system 1 to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the computer system 1 according to the present embodiment is configured by two devices connected by an optical transmission method. In the present embodiment, one of these devices is the optical communication device 10 and the other is the communication target device 20 used by the optical communication device 10.

  Here, the optical communication device 10 and the communication target device 20 are connected based on a communication standard based on an optical transmission method such as a so-called fiber channel. Further, the optical communication device 10 and the communication target device 20 are multiplexed and connected so as to have redundancy. Therefore, each of the optical communication device 10 and the communication target device 20 includes a plurality of optical modules 11 and 21 for performing mutual conversion between an electrical signal and an optical signal, and each optical module on the optical communication device 10 side. 11 and each optical module 21 on the side of the slave device 20 are connected by an optical transmission cable 30 made of, for example, an optical fiber.

  Such a computer system 1 can be realized as a disk array system, for example. In this case, the optical communication device 10 is a host computer, for example, and the communication target device 20 is a disk array device, for example.

  The optical communication device 10 includes a plurality of optical modules 11, a control circuit 12, a laser operating time measurement circuit 13, a laser current reading circuit 14, a laser life calculation circuit 15, and a memory circuit 16.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, each optical module 11 includes a transmission unit 111 and a reception unit 112, and transmits and receives optical signals to and from the communication target device 20 in accordance with instructions from the control circuit 12.

  The transmission unit 111 includes an LD (laser diode), a transmission circuit, and the like, converts transmission data from the control circuit 12 into an optical signal (laser), and transmits the optical module 11 of the communication target device 20 via the optical transmission cable 30. Send to.

  The reception unit 112 includes a PD (light detector), a reception circuit, and the like, receives (receives) an optical signal (laser) from the communication target device 20 via an optical fiber, and converts the received optical signal into reception data. To the control circuit 12.

  The transmission unit 111 and the reception unit 112 of the optical module 11 are individually controlled by the control circuit 12 (power ON / OFF control).

  Returning to FIG. 1, the laser operating time measurement circuit 13 sequentially monitors ON and OFF of the laser transmitted by the transmission unit 111 of each optical module 11, and measures the laser driving time of each optical module 11. Then, the laser operating time measurement circuit 13 periodically transmits the measurement result to the control circuit 12. Based on the measurement result from the laser operating time measurement circuit 13, the control circuit 12 accumulates the laser irradiation time of each optical module 11 from a specific time point (for example, when the optical communication device is turned on). Is stored in the memory circuit 16.

  The laser current reading circuit 14 reads the value of the laser output current (laser current) transmitted from the transmission unit 111 of each optical module 11 in accordance with the instruction from the control circuit 12. Then, the laser current read circuit 14 transmits the read result to the control circuit 12. The control circuit 12 stores the laser current value of each optical module read by the laser current reading circuit 14 in the memory circuit 16 in association with the current time.

  In accordance with an instruction from the control circuit 12, the laser life calculation circuit 15 determines whether the transmission unit 111 of each optical module 11 uses the current laser current value of each optical module 11, the fluctuation of the laser current value, and the laser driving time. The remaining lifetime of the laser to be transmitted is calculated and notified to the control circuit 12.

  Here, an example of a method for calculating the remaining lifetime of the laser of the optical module 11 will be specifically described.

  The output light amount of the laser transmitted from the transmission unit 111 of the optical module 11 is held constant by increasing the output current so as to compensate for the decrease in the output light amount due to deterioration over time. Then, when the laser current exceeds the threshold current set for each optical module, it is determined that the optical module 11 has reached the end of its life, and the optical module 11 fails.

Thus, [Delta] I a variation value of the laser current value from a particular point in time, the laser driving time from a particular point in time as a Delta] t, the current of the laser current value I _0, when the threshold current value and I _S, the life of the optical module 11 T can be calculated by the equation T ₌ (I _S −I ₀ ) × Δt / ΔI.

The control circuit 12 controls the operation of the entire optical communication device 10.
Further, the control circuit 12 causes the laser lifetime calculation circuit 15 to calculate the remaining lifetime of the output laser of each optical module 11 when transmitting data to the communication target device 20. Then, the control circuit 12 determines the optical module 11 used for data transmission based on the calculated remaining lifetime of the laser of each optical module 11 and turns off the output of the output laser of the optical module 11 not used for data transmission. Control.

  The memory circuit 16 stores characteristic information including a threshold value of the laser current of each optical module 11, a measured laser current value, a laser operating time, and the like.

  Next, data transmission processing (transmission processing) of the optical communication apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  As a premise, the laser current value of each optical module 11 at a specific time point (for example, when the optical communication device 10 is turned on) is read by the laser current reading circuit 14 and associated with the time information at that time. And stored in the memory circuit 16.

  For example, when a data transmission instruction is given from a user or another connection device (not shown) and the like, and it becomes necessary to transmit data to the communication target device 20, the control circuit 12 transmits the transmission units 111 of all the optical modules 11. The power to is turned on, and the transmission laser is output (step S101).

Subsequently, the control circuit 12 acquires information indicating the current laser current value, the amount of change in laser current from the specific time point and the laser operating time, and the threshold current of each optical module 11 (step S102).
Specifically, the current laser current value may be acquired via the laser current reading circuit 14. Further, the change amount of the laser current from the specific time point may be obtained by obtaining the difference between the laser current value at the specific time point stored in the memory circuit 16 and the current laser current value. Further, the laser operating time and the threshold current from the specific time point may be acquired from the memory circuit 16.

  Subsequently, the control circuit 12 transmits information indicating the acquired current laser current value, laser current change amount, laser operating time, and threshold current of each optical module 11 to the laser lifetime calculation circuit 15, An instruction to calculate the remaining lifetime of the laser of the optical module 11 is given (step S103). In accordance with an instruction from the control circuit 12, the laser life calculation circuit 15 determines each module from information indicating the received current laser current value, laser current change amount, laser operating time, and threshold current of each optical module 11. The remaining lifetime of the laser is calculated and transmitted to the control circuit 12.

Subsequently, the control circuit 12 preferentially selects the optical module 11 necessary for transmitting the transmission data from the modules having the long remaining lifetime (step S104).
For example, when each of the optical modules 11 has a transfer capability of a transfer rate of 20 Mbps and transmits transmission data that requires a transfer rate of 100 Mbps in terms of capacity, five optical modules having the longer remaining lifetime are used. 11 is selected as the optical module 11 for transmission.

  Subsequently, the control circuit 12 controls the power to the transmission unit 111 of the optical module 11 other than that selected in step S104 to be OFF, and stops the laser output (step S105). By this process, only the optical module 11 selected in step S104 among the plurality of optical modules 11 is in a state of outputting a laser.

  Subsequently, the control circuit 12 transmits the transmission data to the communication target device 20 via the optical module 11 in which the laser is on (that is, the optical module 11 selected in step S104) (step S106). Thus, the transmission process ends.

  As described above, in the present invention, at the time of data transmission, the remaining lifetime of the laser of each optical module 11 is calculated, and the optical module 11 that is used for data transmission preferentially from the optical module 11 with a long lifetime and does not contribute to transmission. The laser output is stopped. Therefore, the specific optical module 11 is not used in a biased manner, the life of each optical module 11 is averaged, and the time until the optical module 11 fails can be maximized. .

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible.

  For example, when the power supply to the transmission unit 111 of the optical module 11 other than the selected module is controlled to be OFF in the process of step S105, the reception unit 112 of the optical module 11 is not performing the data reception process. The optical module 11 may be controlled so that the power supply to the receiving unit 112 of the optical module 11 is also turned off so that the power supply of the entire optical module 11 is turned off. In this case, more power saving can be achieved than in the above embodiment.

  If the number of optical modules 11 used for data transmission is changed during transmission data transmission in step S106 due to a change in the size of the transmission data, data transmission is performed again based on the remaining lifetime of the laser. It is also possible to determine the optical module 11 to be used and to turn off the output of the other optical modules 11. By doing in this way, even if the number of optical modules 11 used for transmission is changed, it is possible to preferentially perform transmission processing from those having a long remaining laser life.

  Further, periodically during the transmission of the transmission data in step S106, the remaining laser lifetime of each optical module 11 is calculated again, and the optical module 11 used for data transmission is determined based on the calculated remaining lifetime. A process for turning off the output of the optical module 11 other than that may be performed. By doing so, it becomes possible to switch the optical module 11 in which the transmission process is prolonged and the remaining laser lifetime is less than the others, to the longer remaining lifetime during the transmission process, and to further increase the lifetime of the entire apparatus. Can be planned.

  In each of the above embodiments, the disk array device is exemplified as the communication target device 20. However, the present invention is not limited to the present invention as long as it is a device capable of optical communication with multiple devices including a plurality of optical modules 11. The applicable communication target apparatus 20 is arbitrary. Similarly, the optical communication apparatus 10 to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a host computer, and can be any apparatus.

  Note that the control circuit 12, the laser operating time measurement circuit 13, the laser current readout circuit 14, and the laser lifetime calculation circuit 15 described in the above embodiment can be configured by a logic circuit such as an LSI or an IC. By modularizing, the module can be applied to the existing optical communication device 10 or the like, and can function in the same manner as the optical communication device 10 according to the present invention. If such a logic circuit is incorporated in advance and the program to be executed can be rewritten or added, the control circuit 12, the laser operating time measuring circuit 13, the laser current reading circuit 14, and the like shown in the above embodiment, In addition, by applying a program that performs the same operation as that of the laser lifetime calculation circuit 15, the program can be made to function similarly to the optical communication apparatus according to the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of an optical module. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a transmission process concretely.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer system 10 Optical communication apparatus 11 Optical module 111 Transmission part 112 Reception part 12 Control circuit 13 Laser operating time measurement circuit 14 Laser current reading circuit 15 Laser lifetime calculation circuit 16 Memory circuit 20 Communication object apparatus 21 Optical module 30 Optical transmission cable

Claims (4)

An optical communication device that transmits and receives data to and from other devices connected by an optical transmission method,
A plurality of optical modules for transmitting and receiving the data;
Laser driving time measuring means for measuring the driving time of the laser for data transmission output from each of the plurality of optical modules and for which a threshold value of output current is set;
Laser current measuring means for measuring the value of the output current of the laser;
Based on the laser driving time measured by the laser driving time measuring means, the value of the laser output current measured by the laser current measuring means, and the threshold value of the output current, the remaining life of the laser of each optical module is determined. A laser lifetime calculating means for calculating;
Discriminating means for discriminating an optical module for performing data transmission processing based on the laser remaining life calculated by the laser life calculating means and the communication amount of transmission data;
Laser off means for controlling the laser output of an optical module other than the optical module determined to cause the data transmission processing by the determination means to be off;
Data transmitting means for causing the optical module determined to perform data transmission processing by the determining means to perform data transmission processing;
An optical communication device comprising: The determination means determines that the optical module has a process of transmitting the data preferentially from an optical module having a long remaining life of the laser.
The optical communication apparatus according to claim 1. The laser off means includes
If an optical module other than the optical module determined to perform data transmission processing by the determination means is performing data reception processing, turn off the laser power of the optical module,
If an optical module other than the optical module determined to perform the data transmission process by the determination unit is not performing the data reception process, the entire optical module is turned off.
The optical communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical communication apparatus is an optical communication apparatus. A communication method of an optical communication device comprising a plurality of optical modules, wherein the optical module transmits and receives data to and from other devices connected by an optical transmission method.
A laser driving time measuring step for measuring a driving time of a laser for data transmission output from each of the plurality of optical modules and for which a threshold value of an output current is set;
A laser current measuring step for measuring a value of an output current of the laser;
Based on the laser drive time measured by the laser drive time measurement step, the laser output current value measured by the laser current measurement step, and the threshold value of the output current, the remaining life of the laser of each optical module is determined. A laser life calculation step to calculate,
A determination step of determining an optical module that performs data transmission processing based on the remaining laser lifetime calculated in the laser lifetime calculation step and the communication amount of transmission data;
A laser off step for controlling off the output of the laser of the optical module other than the optical module determined to cause the data transmission process in the determining step;
A data transmission step for causing the optical module determined to perform data transmission processing in the determination step to perform data transmission processing;
A communication method comprising:

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