Information equipment management system

• US 20030158931A1
• Filed: 02/05/2003
• Published: 08/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tomishige, Hiroshi, Tanaka, Hiroyuki, Matsuo, Masakatsu, Nishimuta, Yasuhiko
• Application Number:
  US10/358,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20030158931A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks

Abstract

An information equipment management system has information equipment 100 and a management computer 200 for managing the information equipment by collecting equipment information about the information equipment 100. The information equipment 100 has an equipment information storage section 101 for retaining equipment information; an equipment information transmission section 102 for establishing communication with the management computer 200; and an equipment information transmission control section 103 for periodically transmitting the equipment information to the management computer 200. The management computer 200 has an equipment information receiving section 201 for receiving equipment information transmitted from the equipment information transmission section 102; an equipment information storage section 202 for storing the transmitted equipment information; and an equipment information analysis section 201 for analyzing a cause of a failure on the basis of the equipment information stored in the equipment information storage section 202 in the event of occurrence of the failure.

Claims

1. An information equipment management system comprising an information equipment and a management computer for managing the information equipment by collecting equipment information about the information equipment, wherein

said information equipment includes:

an equipment information storage section for retaining equipment information;

an equipment information transmission section for establishing communication with the management computer; and

an equipment information transmission control section for periodically transmitting the equipment information to the management computer; and

said management computer includes;

an equipment information receiving section for receiving equipment information transmitted from the equipment information transmission section;

an equipment information storage section for storing the transmitted equipment information; and

an equipment information analysis section for analyzing a cause of a failure on the basis of the equipment information stored in the equipment information storage section in the event of occurrence of the failure.

2. The information equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer has an equipment information disclosure section for disclosing the equipment information stored in the equipment information storage section to an external terminal.

3. The information equipment management system according to claim 1, further comprising a relay computer which includes an information receiving section for receiving the equipment information transmitted from the information equipment and an information transmission section for transmitting the equipment information received by the information receiving section to the management computer.

4. The information equipment management system according to claim 2, further comprising a relay computer which includes an information receiving section for receiving the equipment information transmitted from the information equipment and an information transmission section for transmitting the equipment information received by the information receiving section to the management computer.

5. An apparatus for determining a cause of an anomaly having arisen in information equipment, comprising:

an equipment information receiving section for receiving equipment information about information equipment at predetermined intervals;

an equipment information storage section for cumulatively storing the received equipment information;

a characteristic information storage section for storing a characteristic information of the information equipment; and

an equipment information analysis section which determines whether or not anomalous information is included in a plurality of pieces of equipment information cumulatively stored in the equipment information storage section and compares the anomalous information in the plurality of pieces of equipment information with a characteristic information of the information equipment stored in the characteristic information storage section, thereby analyzing a cause of the anomaly in the information equipment.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the anomaly cause determination apparatus erases the equipment information cumulatively stored in the equipment information storage section when the cause of the anomaly in the equipment information is eliminated.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the equipment information analysis section compares all anomalous information pieces in the plurality of pieces of equipment information cumulatively stored in the equipment information storage section with the characteristic of the equipment information.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the equipment information analysis section compares all anomalous information pieces in the plurality of pieces of equipment information cumulatively stored in the equipment information storage section with the characteristic of the equipment information.

9. A method for determining a cause of an anomaly in information equipment, comprising:

a first step of receiving equipment information about information equipment at predetermined intervals;

a second step of determining whether or not anomalous information is included in all pieces of equipment information received in the first step; and

a third step of comparing the anomalous information determined in the second step with a characteristic information of the information equipment, thereby estimating a cause of the failure in the information equipment.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, in the second step, the determination is performed with regard to only the equipment information from which the cause of the failure in the equipment information has been eliminated.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, in the third step, all pieces of information equipment determined to be anomalous in the second step are compared with the characteristic of the equipment information.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein, in the third step, all pieces of information equipment determined to be anomalous in the second step are compared with the characteristic of the equipment information.