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

• US 7,580,348 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Deguchi, Masaki, Akakura, Yoshinari, Maruyama, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Harper; Kevin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wu; Jianye
• Application Number:
  US11/024,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20050135235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,701 Days
• Field of Search: 370/235, 370/219, 370/221, 370/244
• 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, comprising:

a standby circuit generating part configured to determine, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a predetermined circuit from among the plurality of circuits as a standby circuit, wherein, when a working circuit other than the standby circuit becomes not usable, transmission data passing therethrough until then is transferred to the standby circuit; and

a standby circuit releasing part configured to use the standby circuit as a working circuit when a load total value in the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits increases, wherein;

for generating the standby circuit, said standby circuit generating part obtains a predetermined distribution determination value from multiplying a value obtained based on a number of current working circuits with a predetermined lower limit value, and generates the standby circuit in a case where the load total value is smaller than the predetermined distribution determination value,

for releasing the standby circuit, said standby circuit releasing part obtains a predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value from multiplying the value obtained based on the number of current working circuits with a predetermined upper limit value, and releases the standby circuit in a case where the load total value is larger than the predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value,

said standby circuit generating part carries out generation of the standby circuit by transferring transmission data of a circuit having a lowest load rate to a circuit having a second lowest load rate; and

said standby circuit releasing part carries out releasing of the standby circuit by transferring transmission data of a circuit having a highest load rate to the standby circuit.

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

said predetermined condition comprises that the load total value of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes smaller than the predetermined distribution determination value.

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

when the load total value of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes larger than the predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value, transmission data in a circuit there among 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 traffic of the particular circuits is 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 configured to detect traffic of the predetermined data communication circuits at predetermined intervals, wherein;

processing of generating the standby circuit or releasing the once-generated standby circuit is carried out only when the load total value detected becomes smaller than the predetermined distribution determination value predetermined times, or when the load total value detected becomes larger than the 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 a 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 generating the standby circuit or the releasing reference value for releasing the once-generated 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 generating 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 generating the standby circuit or a releasing reference value for releasing the once-generated 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 generating the standby circuit upon satisfaction of the predetermined condition 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, comprising:

determining, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a predetermined circuit from among the plurality of circuits as a standby circuit, and, transferring, when a working circuit other than the standby circuit becomes not usable, transmission data passing therethrough until then to the standby circuit, or, using the standby circuit as a working circuit when a load total value in the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits increases,

for generating the standby circuit, obtaining a predetermined distribution determination value from multiplying a value obtained based on a number of current working circuits with a predetermined lower limit value, and generating the standby circuit in a case where the load total value is smaller than the predetermined distribution determination value,

for releasing the standby circuit, obtaining a predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value from multiplying a value obtained based on the number of current working circuits with a predetermined upper limit value, and releasing the standby circuit in a case where the load total value is larger than the predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value,

carrying out generation of the standby circuit by transferring transmission data of a circuit having the lowest load rate to a circuit having a second lowest load rate; and

carrying out releasing of the standby circuit by transferring transmission data of a circuit having a highest load rate to the standby circuit.

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

said predetermined condition comprises that the load total value of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes smaller than a predetermined distribution determination value.

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

when the load total value of the predetermined plurality of data transmission circuits becomes larger than the 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 traffic of the particular circuits is equalized among the working circuits other than the predetermined standby circuit.

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

detecting traffic of the predetermined data communication circuits at predetermined intervals, wherein;

processing of generating the standby circuit or releasing the once -generated standby circuit is carried out only when the load total value detected becomes smaller than the predetermined distribution determination value predetermined times, or when the load total value detected becomes larger than the predetermined standby circuit releasing determination value 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 a 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 generating the standby circuit or a releasing reference value for releasing the once-generated 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 generating 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 generating the standby circuit or a 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 generating the standby circuit upon satisfaction of the predetermined condition is activated is automatically set for each predetermined period, based on past traffic data.

25. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 13.

26. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 14.

27. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 15.

28. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 16.

29. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 17.

30. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 18.

31. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 19.

32. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 20.

33. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 21.

34. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 22.

35. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 23.

36. A computer readable information recording medium storing therein a program comprising instructions for causing a computer to execute the control method claimed in claim 24.