Communication system

• US 8,335,177 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2010
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Azbil Corporation (Azbil BioVigilant Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Azbil Corporation (Azbil BioVigilant Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kishi, Masaru, Kinoshita, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Connor, Brian O
• Application Number:
  US12/783,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20100296515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 370/256, 370/353, 370/390, 370/395.2, 370/395.53, 370/312, 370/349, 370/400
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A virtual node ID control unit controls a virtual node ID that specifies a plurality of nodes as a single group. A status control unit controls node statuses that include information indicating the operating statuses of each individual node belonging to the group, and selects an operating mode that is either a priority mode. The local mode operates as an active node, or a standby mode, and the local mode operates as a standby node. A transmission/reception control unit controls the operation of the local node in accordance with the operating mode selected by the status control unit.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of nodes that form a network and that transmit and receive data, wherein;

each node of plural nodes which are part of the plurality of nodes, comprises;

a virtual node ID control unit configured to control a virtual node ID that specifies the plural nodes as a single group;

a status control unit configured to control node statuses that include information indicating operating statuses of each node belonging to the single group, and to select an operating mode that is either a priority mode wherein the each node of plural nodes operates as an active node, or a standby mode wherein the each node of the plural nodes operates as a standby node;

a transmission/reception control unit configured to control an operation of the each node of the plural nodes in accordance with the operating mode selected by the status control unit; and

a communication mode control unit configured to select, based on content of data sent or received by the each node of the plural nodes, a communication mode that is either data communication through a virtual node ID, or data communication through a unique unicast address,

the virtual node ID control unit stores a virtual node ID table that defines and stores a relationship of nodes having unique unicast addresses and the virtual node ID, the relationship indicating whether or not each node is treated as the single group, and

the relationship in the table is different among the plural nodes.