Network device management method, network device management system, and process program for managing network device

• US 7,257,626 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2002
• Issued: 08/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Mokuya, Senichi, Ehara, Shinji, Mori, Hozumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIVECHA, KAMAL B
• Application Number:
  US10/195,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20030046381A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,855 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 709/223
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0226 Mapping or translating multiple network management protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/024 using relational databases for representation of network management data, e.g. managing via structured query language [SQL]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

Since an MIB file present in a network device and having the structure of MIB data is expressed in the ASN1 format, the MIB file is not flexibly modified by a user.

A management-information database-structure definition file converter unit 22 converts MIB files 21a, 21b . . . having the MIB data structures of MIB databases 12a, 12b, . . . mounted on the network devices 10a, 10b, . . . into files in a tag-structured format. Specifically, the management-information database-structure definition file converter unit 22 converts MIB files 21a, 21b, . . . into MIB files 23a, 23b . . . in a tag-structured format (XML format). Using the MIB files 23a, 23b, . . . in the XML format, a network device management tool 24 manages the MIB databases 12a, 12b . . . of the respective network devices 10, 10b . . .

Claims

1. A network device management method in a network device management system that includes a network device having a management-information database and a management device having a network-device management tool to manage the network device, comprising:

holding, with the management device, a plurality of management-information database structure definition files describing the structure of the management-information database;

managing, with the network-device management tool, the management-information database of the network device using the management-information database structure definition files;

converting, with the management device, the management-information database structure definition file into a tag-structured file; and

managing, with the network device management tool, the management-information database of the network device using the tag-structured management-information database structure definition file, wherein

converting the management-information database structure definition file into the tag-structured file includes;

a subprocess including reading the management-information database structure definition file to be converted, and acquiring a character string to be converted from the management-information database structure definition file on a per unit of conversion basis,

a subprocess including producing a control-table list to acquire position data representing a position, the character string of the unit of conversion, a process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion, and a character string converted from the character string of the unit of conversion, as data required to convert the acquired character string of one unit of conversion into tag-structured data, acquiring, out of these pieces of data, the position data representing the position, the character string of the unit of conversion, and the process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion, and writing, onto the control-table list, the position data representing the position, the character string of the unit of conversion, and the process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion,

a subprocess including converting the character string of the unit of conversion into the tag-structured data in accordance with the process function in the control-table list,

a subprocess including writing the tag-structured character string obtained as a result of conversion in the control-table list as a post-conversion character string,

a subprocess including reading the post-conversion character string on a per unit of conversion basis from the control-table list in response to all character strings of the unit of conversion, and writing the read post-conversion character string in a post-conversion management-information database structure definition file, and

a suborocess including storing the tag-structured file in a storage device in the management device.

2. The network device management method according to claim 1, further including expressing, with the network device management tool, the management-information database of the network device in a tree structure using the tag-structured management-information database structure definition file, and learning the structure of the management-information database based on the tree structure, thereby managing a predetermined section in the management-information database.

3. The network device management method according to claim 1, the tag-structured format being an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format.

4. A network device management system, comprising:

a network device having a management-information database; and

a management device having a network-device management tool to manage the network device,

the management device holding a plurality of management-information database structure definition files describing a structure of the management-information database, and the network-device management tool managing the management-information database of the network device using the management-information database structure definition files,

the management device including a management-information database-structure definition file converter to convert the management-information database structure definition file into a tag-structured file, and the network device management tool managing data in the management-information database of the network device using the tag-structured management-information database structure definition file, wherein

the management-information database-structure definition file converter converts the management-information database structure definition file into the tag-structured file by;

reading the management-information database structure definition file to be converted, and acquiring a character string to be converted from the management-information database structure definition file on a per unit of conversion basis,

producing a control-table list to acquire position data representing a position, the character string of the unit of conversion, a process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion, and a character string converted from the character string of the unit of conversion, as data required to convert the acquired character string of one unit of conversion into tag-structured data, acquiring, out of these pieces of data, the position data representing the position, the character string of the unit of conversion, and the process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion, and writing, onto the control-table list, the position data representing the position, the character string of the unit of conversion, and the process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion,

converting the character string of the unit of conversion into the tag-structured data in accordance with the process function in the control-table list,

writing the tag-structured character string obtained as a result of conversion in the control-table list as a post-conversion character string,

reading the post-conversion character string on a per unit of conversion basis from the control-table list in response to all character strings of the unit of conversion, and writing the read post-conversion character string in a post-conversion management-information database structure definition file, and

storing the tag-structured file in a storage device in the management device.

5. The network device management system according to claim 4, the network device management tool including a management database processor which expresses the management-information database of the network device in a tree structure using the tag-structured management-information database structure definition file, and a network device management processor which learns tho structure of the management-information database based on the tree structure, thereby managing a predetermined section in the management-information database.

6. The network device management system according to claim 4, the tag-structured format being an XML format.

7. A process program recorded on a computer-readable storage media for manage a network device in a network device management system that includes a network device having a management-information database and a management device having a network-device management tool to manage the network device, the management device holding a plurality of management-information database structure definition files describing the structure of the management-information database, and the network-device management tool managing the management-information database of the network device using the management-information database structure definition files, the process program comprising instructions to execute the following steps:

reading the management-information database structure definition file;

converting the read management-information database structure definition file into a tag-structured file; and

managing data in the management-information database of the network device using the tag-structured management-information database structure definition file, wherein

converting the management-information database structure definition file into the tag-structured file includes;

reading the management-information database structure definition file to be converted, and acquiring a character string to be converted from the management-information database structure definition file on a per unit of conversion,

producing a control-table list to acquire position data representing a position, the character string of the unit of conversion, a process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion, and a character string converted from the character string of the unit of conversion, as data required to convert the acquired character string of one unit of conversion into tag-structured data, acquiring, out of these pieces of data, the position data representing the position, the character string of the unit of conversion, and the process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion, and writing, onto the control-table list, the position data representing the position, the character string of the unit of conversion, and the process function representing what conversion process to perform on the character string of the unit of conversion,

converting the character string of the unit of conversion into the tag-structured data in accordance with the process function in the control-table list,

writing the tag-structured character string obtained as a result of conversion in the control-table list as a post-conversion character string,

reading the post-conversion character string on a per unit of conversion basis from the control-table list in response to all character strings of the unit of conversion, and writing the read post-conversion character string in a post-conversion management-information database structure definition file, and

storing the tag-structured file in a storage device in the management device.

8. The process program recorded on a computer-readable storage media to manage a network device according to claim 7, the network device management tool expressing the management-information database of the network device in a tree structure using the tag-structured management-information database structure definition file, and learning the structure of the management-information database based on the tree structure, thereby managing a predetermined section in the management-information database.

9. The process program recorded on a computer-readable storage media to manage a network device according to claim 7, the tag-structured format being an XML format.