Auto-negotiation monitor system, repeating-transmission apparatus, and auto-negotiation monitor method used therefor

• US 7,450,519 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 11/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamauchi, Toshiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo; Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hailu; Kibrom T
• Application Number:
  US10/952,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20050073965A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 370242-246, 370/293, 370/216, 370/400, 398/1, 398 10- 12, 398 16- 20, 714/4, 714/25, 714/31
• US Class Current: 370/243
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks

Abstract

Where each of switches opposed to each other detects optical-signal shutoff or optical-signal deterioration on the reception side of its port, the switch brings a link of the port down and outputs an auto-negotiation configuration code, as an LAN signal. Upon receiving the LAN signal transmitted from the switch, a repeating-transmission apparatus transmits the transmitted signal to an auto-negotiation monitor. The auto-negotiation monitor performs code analysis for the transmitted LAN signal. Where the auto-negotiation monitor detects that the transmitted LAN signal is the auto-negotiation configuration code, it notifies a monitor apparatus that “The switch detects a failure and the link is down.”, as an alarm.

Claims

1. An auto-negotiation monitor system for transferring local-area-network signals between opposing switches via at least one repeating-transmission apparatus and monitoring the at least one repeating-transmission apparatus and the opposing switches by a monitor apparatus,

wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus comprises:

a code discrimination block that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from each of the opposing switches and determines whether or not a predetermined code for auto-negotiation exists by monitoring the local-area-network signal, where the auto-negotiation is performed for establishing connection between the opposing switches; and

an alarm unit for determining which of the opposing switches transmitted the predetermined auto-negotiation code that arrived earlier than the other, where the code discrimination block determines that the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists, and notifying the monitor apparatus of the determination result, as an alarm.

2. The auto-negotiation monitor system according to claim 1, wherein each of the opposing switches brings a link of its port down, where a failure occurs in an optical fiber on a reception side, and outputs the predetermined auto-negotiation code.

3. The auto-negotiation monitor system according to claim 2, wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus repeats and transfers the local-area-network signal without terminating a media-access-control layer.

4. The auto-negotiation monitor system according to claim 1, wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus is provided for each of said opposing switches and wherein each of the repeating-transmission apparatuses comprises an auto-negotiation monitor that is connected to the switch corresponding thereto via a reception-side optical fiber and a transmission-side optical fiber and that includes the code discrimination block and the alarm unit, and an LAN-signal repeater for repeating the local-area-network signal between the auto-negotiation monitor and the repeating-transmission apparatus opposed thereto.

5. The auto-negotiation monitor system according to claim 4, wherein the code discrimination block comprises:

a first code discriminator that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from one of the opposing switches and that determines whether or not the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal; and

a second code discriminator that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from the other of the opposing switches and that determines whether or not the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal.

6. The auto-negotiation monitor system according to claim 1, wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus is provided between the opposing switches, connected to one of the opposing switches via reception-side and transmission-side optical fibers, and connected to the other of the opposing switches via reception-side and transmission-side optical fibers,

wherein the code discrimination block comprises:

a first code discriminator that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from one of the opposing switches and that determines whether or not the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal; and

a second code discriminator that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from the other of the opposing switches and that determines whether or not the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal,

wherein the alarm unit determines which of the switches transmitted the predetermined auto-negotiation code that arrived earlier than the other, where one of the first and second code discriminators determines that the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists, and notifies the monitor apparatus of the determination result, as the alarm, and

wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus further comprises an LAN-signal amplifier that amplifies the local-area-network signal transmitted from one of the opposing switches and outputs the amplified signal to the other of the opposing switches, and that amplifies the local-area-network signal transmitted from the other of the opposing switches and outputs the amplified signal to said one of the opposing switches.

7. A repeating-transmission apparatus that is provided between opposing switches for repeating and transferring a local-area-network signal and that is monitored by a monitor apparatus, with the opposing switches, the repeating-transmission apparatus comprising:

a code discrimination block that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from each of the opposing switches and determines whether or not a predetermined code for auto-negotiation exists by monitoring the local-area-network signal, where the auto-negotiation is performed for establishing connection between the opposing switches, and

an alarm unit for determining which of the switches transmitted the predetermined auto-negotiation code that arrived earlier than the other, where the code discrimination block determines that the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists, and notifying the monitor apparatus of the determination result, as an alarm.

8. The repeating-transmission apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the opposing switches brings a link of its port down, where a failure occurs in an optical fiber on the reception side, and outputs the predetermined auto-negotiation code.

9. The repeating-transmission apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus repeats and transfers the local-area-network signal without terminating a media-access-control layer.

10. The repeating-transmission apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the code discrimination block comprises:

a first code discriminator that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from one of the opposing switches and that determines whether or not the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal; and

a second code discriminator that receives the local-area-network signal transmitted from the other of the opposing switches and that determines whether or not the predetermined auto-negotiation code exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal.

11. The repeating-transmission apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the repeating-transmission apparatus further comprises an LAN-signal amplifier that amplifies the local-area-network signal transmitted from one of the opposing switches and outputs the amplified signal to the other of the opposing switches, and that amplifies the local-area-network signal transmitted from the other of the opposing switches and outputs the amplified signal to said one of the opposing switches.

12. An auto-negotiation monitor method for transferring local-area-network signals between opposing switches opposed to each other via at least one repeating-transmission apparatus and monitoring the repeating-transmission apparatus and the opposing switches by a monitor apparatus, the auto-negotiation monitor method comprising the steps of:

receiving the local-area-network signal transmitted from each of the opposing switches,

determining whether or not a predetermined code for auto-negotiation performed for establishing connection between the opposing switches exists by monitoring the transmitted local-area-network signal,

determining which of the opposing switches transmitted the predetermined auto-negotiation code that arrived earlier than the other, where the existence of the predetermined auto-negotiation code is determined, and

notifying the monitor apparatus of the determination result, as an alarm.

13. The auto-negotiation monitor method according to claim 12, wherein each of the opposing switches brings a link of its port down, where a failure occurs in an optical fiber on the reception side, and outputs the predetermined auto-negotiation code.