Communication apparatus, control method, program and computer readable information recording medium

• US 20050135235A1
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Deguchi, Masaki, Maruyama, Ryo, Akakura, Yoshinari
• Granted Patent: US 7,580,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/22 using redundant apparatus to increase reliability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0663 Performing the actions predefined by failover planning, e.g. switching to standby network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• 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

In order to rapidly restoration at a time of fault occurrence without lowering usage efficiency of circuit resources, in a configuration in which a plurality of physical circuits are grouped and communication is carried out with transmission data being distributed, a circuit having the minimum traffic from among the grouped circuits is set as a standby circuit, and, a traffic in a fault circuit is transferred to the standby circuit in a lump when a fault occurs in another working circuit.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus which carries out data transmission in such a manner that transmission data is distributed to a predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits, wherein:

when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a predetermined circuit from among the plurality of circuits is determined as a standby circuit, and, when a working circuit other than the standby circuit becomes not usable, transmission data passing therethrough until then is transferred to the standby circuit, or, the standby circuit is used as a working circuit when a total traffic amount in the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits increases.

2. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said predetermined condition comprises that the total traffic amount of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes lower than a predetermined distribution determination value.

3. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

when the total traffic among of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes higher than a predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value, transmission data in a circuit thereamong is transferred to the standby circuit, wherein the transfer of transmission data to the standby circuit is carried out in such a manner that the circuit having a higher traffic is first selected to have the own transmission data be thus transferred to the standby circuit.

4. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the distribution of the transmission data is carried out in such a manner that a code included in predetermined data of a packet of the transmission data is designated.

5. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein;

processing is carried out in which traffics of the particular circuits are equalized among the working circuits other than the predetermined standby circuit.

6. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a monitoring part detecting traffics of the predetermined data communication circuits at predetermined intervals, wherein;

processing of creating the standby circuit or releasing the once created standby circuit is carried out only when the total traffic amount detected by said monitoring part becomes lower than a predetermined distribution determination value predetermined times, or when the total traffic amount detected by said monitoring part becomes higher than a predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value predetermined times.

7. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the standby circuit is used for transmitting a predetermined type of data, and, when another circuit becomes unusable, or the traffic of another circuit increases to be higher than a predetermined value, the standby circuit is used to transmit data of the other circuit with a higher priority.

8. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein;

a priority order is provided, corresponding to the number of the standby circuits, for the transmission of the predetermined type of data with the use of the standby circuits, and, when another circuit becomes unusable or a traffic of another circuit becomes higher than the predetermined value, the standby circuit of data transmission of a lower priority in said priority order is used earlier to transmit data of the other circuit.

9. The communication apparatus as clamed in claim 1, wherein:

a distribution reference value for creating the standby circuit or the releasing reference value for releasing the once-created standby circuit is set each predetermined period.

10. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

a time zone is set in which the function of creating the standby circuit may be inhibited even when the predetermined condition is satisfied.

11. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

a distribution reference value for creating the standby circuit or the releasing reference value for releasing the once-created standby circuit is automatically set for each predetermined period, based on past traffic data.

12. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim.1, wherein:

information indicating whether or not the function of creating the standby circuit upon satisfaction of the predetermined is activated is automatically set for each predetermined period, based on past traffic data.

13. A control method for carrying out data transmission in such a manner that transmission data is distributed to a predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits, wherein:

when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a predetermined circuit from among the plurality of circuits is determined as a standby circuit, and, when a working circuit other than the standby circuit becomes not usable, transmission data passing therethrough until then is transferred to the standby circuit, or, the standby circuit is used as a working circuit when a total traffic amount in the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits increases.

14. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

said predetermined condition comprises that the total traffic amount of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes lower than a predetermined distribution determination value.

15. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

when the total traffic among of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes higher than a predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value, transmission data in a circuit thereamong is transferred to the standby circuit, wherein the transfer of transmission data to the standby circuit is carried out in such a manner that the circuit having a higher traffic is first selected to have the own transmission data be thus transferred to the standby circuit.

16. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

the distribution of the transmission data is carried out in such a manner that a code included in predetermined data of a packet of the transmission data is designated.

17. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein;

processing is carried out in which traffics of the particular circuits are equalized among the working circuits other than the predetermined standby circuit.

18. The control method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

a monitoring step of detecting traffics of the predetermined data communication circuits at predetermined intervals, wherein;

processing of creating the standby circuit or releasing the once created standby circuit is carried out only when the total traffic amount detected by said monitoring part becomes lower than a predetermined distribution determination value a predetermined times, or when the total traffic amount detected in said monitoring step becomes higher than a predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value a predetermined times.

19. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

the standby circuit is used for transmitting a predetermined type of data, and, when another circuit becomes unusable, or the traffic of another circuit increases to be higher than a predetermined value, the standby circuit is used to transmit data of the other circuit with a higher priority.

20. The control method as claimed in claim 19, wherein;

a priority order is provided, corresponding to the number of the standby circuits, for the transmission of the predetermined type of data with the use of the standby circuits, and, when another circuit becomes unusable or a traffic of another circuit becomes higher than the predetermined value, the standby circuit of data transmission of a lower priority in said priority order is used earlier to transmit data of the other circuit.

21. The control method as clamed in claim 13, wherein:

a distribution reference value for creating the standby circuit or the releasing reference value for releasing the once-created standby circuit is set at each predetermined period.

22. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

a time zone is set in which the function of creating the standby circuit may be inhibited even when the predetermined condition is satisfied.

23. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

a distribution reference value for creating the standby circuit or the releasing reference value for releasing the once-created standby circuit is automatically set for each predetermined period, based on past traffic data.

24. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

information indicating whether or not the function of creating the standby circuit upon satisfaction of the predetermined is activated is automatically set for each predetermined period, based on past traffic data.

25. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step of the control method claimed in claim 13.

26. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step of the control method claimed in claim 14.

27. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 15.

28. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 16.

29. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 17.

30. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 18.

31. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 19.

32. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 20.

33. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 21.

34. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 22.

35. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 23.

36. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute each step the control method claimed in claim 24.

37. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 25.

38. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 26.

39. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 27.

40. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 28.

41. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 29.

42. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 30.

43. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 31.

44. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 32.

45. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 33.

46. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 34.

47. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 35.

48. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein the program claimed in claim 36.