NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AN AIRCRAFT

• US 20100057899A1
• Filed: 07/15/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Henkel, Wolfram
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,727 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A network management system in an aircraft for managing and maintaining a network. An aircraft maintenance computer communicates with a first device to be managed via the SNMP protocol. The first device to be comprises a description file. Within a subnetwork one or more second devices to be managed are present which are linked with the first device to be managed. These second devices to be managed enter their data into the description file via these connections. The data are necessary for managing and maintaining the respective second device to be managed by the aircraft maintenance computer. Therefore the aircraft maintenance computer is enabled to manage and maintain the first and the second devices only by means of the central MIB

Claims

1. A network management system for an aircraft for managing and maintaining a network and a subnetwork, the network management system comprising:

the network;

the subnetwork;

wherein the network comprises;

an aircraft maintenance computer;

at least one first device to be managed which first device to be managed has at least one description file;

wherein the description file, the first device to be managed and the aircraft maintenance computer are adapted in such a way, that exchange of information between the aircraft maintenance computer and the first device to be managed is possible via SNMP;

wherein the subnetwork comprises;

at least one second device to be managed;

wherein the aircraft maintenance computer is adapted for managing and maintaining the first and the second device to be managed;

wherein the second device to be managed is connected with the first device to be managed in such way, that the second device to be managed is able to transmit data that is necessary for management and maintenance to the description file of the first device to be managed;

whereby the exchange of information between the aircraft maintenance computer and the first device to be managed via SNMP enables the aircraft maintenance computer by only the description file to manage and maintain both devices.

2. The network management system of claim 1,

wherein the first device to be managed comprises an In-Flight Entertainment System (IFE);

and wherein the second device to be managed is chosen from the group comprising seat actuation, On-board Mobile Telephone System (OMTS), In-Seat Power Supply System (ISPSS), electronical component for entertainment, and any combination thereof.

3. The network management system of claim 1,

wherein the first device to be managed comprises a Cabin Intercommunication Data System Director (CIDS DIR);

and

wherein the second device to be managed comprises a Cabine Intercommunication Data System (CIDS), that comprises components that are chosen from the group comprising Decoder-Encoder Unit for converting a CIDS protocol into a CAN protocol, Ice Protection Control Unit (IPCU). Potable Water System (PWS), Vacuum Toilet System (VTS), Galley Network Control System (GNCS), subnetwork component of the galley, Cabin Illumination (CIL), Emergency Power Supply System (EPSU), Control Sunlight Blocking System (CSBS), and any combination thereof.

4. The network management system of claim 1,

with the description file further comprising:

a first part and a second part;

wherein the first part is defined so as to be fixed; and

wherein the second part can be adapted to at least the two device to be managed.

5. The network management system of claim 4,

wherein in regions that are stated by the second part of the description file placeholders are entered;

and

wherein for each device to be managed a configuration file is provided in which the significance of the placeholders is defined.

6. The network management system of claim 1,

with the description file further comprising:

information for identification of the device to be managed.

7. The network management system of claim 1,

with the description file further comprising:

a first failure table;

information relating to the current function state of a device to be managed; and

a second failure table;

wherein in the first failure table failures that have occurred before the runtime of the system are stored; and

wherein in the second failure table failures that have occurred since the beginning of the runtime of the system are stored.

8. The network management system of claim 1,

wherein the aircraft maintenance computer is adapted in such a way that at least one of the devices to be managed can be caused to carry out a test;

wherein this at least one device to be managed is adapted in such a way that it carries out the caused test and that it stores the test results in the description file.

9. The network management system of claim 1,

with the network management system further comprising:

a troubleshooting file;

wherein the aircraft maintenance computer is adapted in such a way that in the case of an exchange of failure information with a device, troubleshooting takes place on the basis of the troubleshooting file.

10. The network management system of claim 1,

wherein the aircraft maintenance computer is adapted in such a way that different exchanged failure information can be correlated.

11. A method for managing and maintaining a network and a subnetwork in an aircraft by means of a network management system, the method comprising:

providing for network within the aircraft;

providing for subnetwork within the aircraft;

wherein the network comprises;

an aircraft maintenance computer and at least one first device to be managed, which comprises a description file;

wherein the subnetwork comprises a second device to be managed;

wherein the aircraft maintenance computer is adapted for managing and maintaining the first and the second device to be managed;

the method further comprising the step;

exchanging information of the description file between the aircraft maintenance computer and the first device to be managed via SNMP, and

transmitting data from the second device to be managed to the description file of the first device to be managed by the second device to be managed, wherein the data is necessary for the management and the maintenance of the second device to be managed;

whereby the exchange of information between the aircraft maintenance computer and the first device to be managed via SNMP enables the aircraft maintenance computer by means of only the description file to manage and maintain both devices to be managed.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

defining a first part and a second part of the description file;

adapting the first part of the description file to the network management system; and

adapting the second part of the description file to a device to be managed.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

querying information of the description file for identification of a device to be managed by the aircraft maintenance computer;

sending the information of the description file for identification of this device to be managed by the first device to be managed to the aircraft maintenance computer;

querying a first and a second failure table of the description file by the aircraft maintenance computer;

sending the first failure table and the second failure table by the first device to be managed to the aircraft maintenance computer;

wherein in the first failure table failures that have occurred before a runtime of the system are stored;

wherein in the second failure table failures that have occurred since the beginning of the runtime of the system are stored;

querying information of the description file concerning a current function state of a device by the aircraft maintenance computer; and

sending the information concerning a current function state of this device by the first device to be managed to the aircraft maintenance computer.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

initiating a test in a device to be managed by the aircraft maintenance computer;

carrying out a test by this device, which test corresponds to initiation; and

transmission, by the first device to be managed, of results of the test to the aircraft maintenance computer.

15. An aircraft comprising a network management system for managing and maintaining a network and a subnetwork, the network management system comprising:

the network;

the subnetwork;

wherein the network comprises;

an aircraft maintenance computer;

at least one first device to be managed which first device to be managed has at least one description file;

wherein the description file, the first device to be managed and the aircraft maintenance computer are adapted in such a way, that exchange of information between the aircraft maintenance computer and the first device to be managed is possible via SNMP;

wherein the subnetwork comprises;

at least one second device to be managed;

wherein the aircraft maintenance computer is adapted for managing and maintaining the first and the second device to be managed;

wherein the second device to be managed is connected with the first device to be managed in such way, that the second device to be managed is able to transmit data that is necessary for management and maintenance to the description file of the first device to be managed;

whereby the exchange of information between the aircraft maintenance computer and the first device to be managed via SNMP enables the aircraft maintenance computer by only the description file to manage and maintain both devices.