Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Distributed data processing – Processing agent
Patent
1998-09-24
2000-06-06
Maung, Zarni
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Distributed data processing
Processing agent
709223, 709224, G06F 1300, G06F 1516
Patent
active
060731621
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of object supervision, and more particularly to an agent unit for supervising at least one object, a supervising system that includes at least one such agent unit, and to a method of transferring information from one object to at least two mutually different supervising means.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART
An agent unit is a device that receives from a supervised object operational information that includes a first object specific protocol and converts this information into at least one message which is sent to a superior supervising means with a second supervising specific protocol. One such second protocol is for instance SNMP, and one such first protocol is for instance MML that is used between an agent unit and a telephone exchange.
A relatively modern supervising system in this technology is a supervising system in which objects may be coupled in some form of network and wherein one such system may include a superior supervising means, normally referred to as manager or system manager that is connected to one or more agent units, each of which functions to supervise at least one object. The agent units are able to send to the superior supervising means messages that concern the objects under their supervision. The agent units are able to send the messages on their own initiative or when requested to do so. Thus, an agent unit is a unit that possesses some intelligence and may warn the superior supervising means of a fault in the supervised object. This type of supervising system is beneficial when a superior supervising means is to supervise, or monitor, many objects. The use of agent units lightens the load on the superior supervising means. One such system is described in EP-A2-0 621 706, for instance.
It is possible in many contexts that there may exist a second supervising means of a different, normally older type, which is connected to the object and requires therefrom operational information that includes the first object specific protocol. It is therefore of interest to interconnect two such mutually different supervising means such as to obtain one single supervising system. The second, older supervising means, which is often connected directly to the object, or through the medium of a modem, communicates, however, with the object with the first object specific protocol and not with the second supervising specific protocol, and consequently incorporation of the second supervising means cannot be achieved in a simple manner.
Described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,433 is a computer system which performs supervising functions with respect to system components, wherein one component is comprised of supervisory software. In this case, two different supervising specific protocols, management protocols, are used in one agent, which is also software, for supervising an object so as to facilitate supervising from two different superior supervising means. Both of these protocols are of the second type that is used for communication between agent and superior supervising means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention solves the problem of interconnecting old and new supervising means in a single supervising system for supervising at least one object, where a first, new supervising means requires messages concerning the operational status of the object with a second supervising specific protocol, and a second, old supervising means requires operational information from the object with a first object specific protocol.
The problem is solved by interconnecting the first and the second supervising means with the object by means of an agent unit which receives from the object operational information which includes a first object specific protocol, and which includes a protocol converter that converts this operational information into at least one message that includes a second supervising specific protocol, and a control means which opens a channel between the object and the second supervising means so as to enable the second supervising means
REFERENCES:
patent: 5448724 (1995-09-01), Hayashi
patent: 5452433 (1995-09-01), Nilhart et al.
patent: 5504921 (1996-04-01), Dev et al.
patent: 5740368 (1998-04-01), Villalpando
patent: 5742762 (1998-04-01), Scholl et al.
IEEE Journal On Selected Areas In Communications, vol. 11, No. 9, Dec. 1993, New Jersey, USA, Oscar Newkerk et al., "The Common Agent--A Multiprotocol Management Agent", pp. 1346-1352.
International Symposium On Integrated Network, IFIP IC 6/WG 6.6, Apr.1993, Subrata Mazumdar et al., "Design of Protocol Independent Management Agent to Support SNMP and CMIP Queries", pp. 377-388.
Blomkvist Peter
Johannsen Berndt
Maung Zarni
Romero Almari
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
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