COMMUNICATION DEVICE, METHOD FOR SETTING COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND PROGRAM

• US 20130275622A1
• Filed: 12/19/2011
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Funasaki, Tomoshige
• Granted Patent: US 9,231,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use

Abstract

A communication device includes an address generation unit that generates address information, a reply request transmission unit that transmits a reply request to request a reply from the other communication device having the address information generated by the address generation unit, and an address setting unit that sets the address information generated by the address generation unit as address information of the communication device when the reply to the reply request is not received, wherein the address generation unit generates address information different from the previously generated address information when the reply to the reply request is received.

Claims

1. A communication device connected to other communication devices to form a management network, the device comprising:

an address generation unit that generates address information;

a reply request transmission unit that transmits a reply request to request a reply from the other communication device having the address information generated by the address generation unit; and

an address setting unit that sets the address information generated by the address generation unit as address information of the communication device when the reply to the reply request is not received,

wherein the address generation unit generates address information different from the previously generated address information when the reply to the reply request is received.

2. The communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the address generation unit generates the address information from device-unique information intrinsic to the communication device using unidirectional function, and

wherein the communication device further comprises:

a changing unit that changes the unidirectional function when the reply to the reply request transmitted by the reply request transmission unit is not received.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an address transmission unit that transmits address information determined by an address determination unit to the other communication device directly connected to the communication device;

an adjacent address reception unit that receives the address information of the other communication device from the directly-connected other communication device;

an adjacent address recording unit that records the address information received by the adjacent address reception unit in an adjacent address storage unit; and

an adjacent address notification unit that transmits the address information stored in the adjacent address storage unit to a management device managing the management network when an adjacent address notification request to request the address information of the other communication device directly connected to the communication device is received from the management device.

4. A method for setting a communication device connected to other communication devices to form a management network using the communication device, the method comprising:

generating, by an address generation unit, address information;

transmitting, by a reply request transmission unit, a reply request to request a reply from the other communication device having the address information generated by the address generation unit;

generating, by the address generation unit, address information different from the previously generated address information when the reply to the reply request is received; and

setting, by an address setting unit, the address information generated by the address generation unit as address information of the communication device when the reply to the reply request is not received.

5. A program causing a computer of a communication device connected to other communication devices to form a management network to function as:

an address generation unit that generates address information;

a reply request transmission unit that transmits a reply request to request a reply from the other communication device having the address information generated by the address generation unit; and

an address setting unit that sets the address information generated by the address generation unit as address information of the communication device when the reply to the reply request is not received,

wherein the address generation unit generates address information different from the previously generated address information when the reply to the reply request is received.