JP2008191878A - Remote diagnostic-failure responding system, remote diagnostic-failure responding device, remote diagnostic-failure response instruction device, remote diagnostic-falure responding method, and remote diagnostic-failure responding program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote diagnostic-failure responding system, a remote diagnostic-failure responding device, a remote diagnostic-failure responding instruction device, a remote diagnostic-failure responding method, and a remote diagnostic-failure responding program, in which load of failure analysis-failure responding processing is distributed, and failure response is performed according to a failure level. <P>SOLUTION: The remote diagnostic-failure responding system in which electronic equipment 500, the remote diagnostic-failure responding device 100, and the remote diagnostic-failure response instruction device 200 are mutually connected by a network 90 performs failure analysis based on primary analysis information acquired from the electronic equipment 500 and/or the remote diagnostic-failure responding device 100. The system includes a secondary analysis request means 52 which transmits, when the failure cause cannot be specified as the result of the failure analysis, secondary analysis information to the remote diagnostic-failure response instruction device 200 to request failure analysis, and a failure response request means 45 which performs failure analysis based on the secondary analysis information and requests a failure response to the remote diagnostic-failure responding device based on the analysis result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote diagnosis / failure response system having a failure analysis function and a failure response function via a network, a remote diagnosis / failure response device, and a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device.

  Currently, electronic devices used in the office environment such as digital copying machines (MFP: Multifunction Peripheral or Multifunction Printer), facsimile machines, and printers are built in the office environment in the same way as user terminals (PC: Personal Computer). Connected to a network.

  Therefore, operation / maintenance work in electronic devices installed in such an environment is performed by electronic information such as operation information such as billing counters and device information such as toner near-end from an external management center via a data communication network such as the Internet. By acquiring various types of information related to the device in real time, it can be performed efficiently. As a result, the manufacturer of the electronic device can provide a high-quality support service to the user.

  In such a system, what is important for providing high-quality services is a management server (hereinafter referred to as a “remote diagnosis / fault response device”) installed in a management center and an electronic device to be managed. To a communication failure occurring between the device and a functional failure during operation on the electronic device.

  Therefore, conventionally, in the case of a functional failure in operation on an electronic device, a module (diagnostic program) for diagnosing the failure is mounted in the electronic device in advance, or a module for diagnosing the failure is installed as an electronic device such as a remote diagnosis / fault response device. By creating a diagnostic record (eg, diagnostic log) by downloading it to the device and automatically executing it, and uploading the generated diagnostic record (eg, diagnostic log) to the remote diagnosis / fault response device A method (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2) for performing a failure response for analyzing a received diagnostic record (for example, a diagnostic log) on a remote diagnosis / failure response device has been proposed.

In this way, the remote diagnosis / failure response system is a communication failure that occurs between the remote diagnosis / failure response device installed in the management center and the electronic device to be managed, or a functional failure that is operating on the electronic device. Can be dealt with by analyzing the problem with a remote diagnosis / fault response device and reporting the analysis result to a support person.
JP 2004-336235 A Japanese Patent No. 3448269

  However, in the remote diagnosis / failure response systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, all diagnosis records (for example, diagnosis logs) from each electronic device are collected in the remote diagnosis / failure response device, and the remote diagnosis / failure response system. Since all failure analysis is performed by the failure handling device, there is a problem that the load on the remote diagnosis / failure handling device when performing the failure analysis is large.

  In addition, there are various types of failures, ranging from minor to severe, and the response methods differ depending on the failure level. Therefore, various levels of failures can be analyzed and dealt with by remote diagnosis / failure handling equipment. There is also a problem that it is inefficient as failure analysis and failure handling work.

  In the present invention, in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the remote diagnosis / failure response system capable of load balancing the failure analysis / failure response processing in the remote diagnosis / failure response system and performing the failure response according to the failure level, An object is to provide a remote diagnosis / fault response device, a remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device, a remote diagnosis / fault response method, and a remote diagnosis / fault response program.

  In order to achieve the above object, a remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present invention is primary information that is information for analyzing an electronic device and the cause of the fault acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnostic / fault handling device. Analyze the information for analysis, analyze the remote diagnosis / failure response device that handles the failure, and analyze the secondary analysis information that is information for analyzing the cause of the failure transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure response device, A remote diagnosis / failure response system in which a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device for instructing failure response to the remote diagnosis / failure response device is connected via a network, wherein the remote diagnosis / failure response device is used for the primary analysis The primary analysis of the failure is performed based on the information, and when the cause of the failure cannot be identified, the secondary analysis information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device to request the secondary analysis of the failure. The remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device has an analysis request means, performs a secondary analysis of the failure based on the secondary analysis information, and responds to the remote diagnosis / failure response device based on the analysis result. It has a failure response request means for requesting.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention performs a primary analysis on the fault that has occurred and performs a fault response based on the result of the primary analysis, and the cause of the fault in the primary analysis. Remote diagnosis / failure response system with a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device that performs secondary analysis when the problem cannot be identified and directs the final failure response to the remote diagnosis / failure response device based on the result of the secondary analysis , And performing failure analysis and failure handling in stages, it is possible to load-balance failure analysis / failure handling processing in the remote diagnosis / failure handling system and perform failure handling according to the failure level.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault response system according to the present invention is a fault in which the remote diagnosis / fault response device detects a fault that has occurred in the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device. A detection means; and an analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the primary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device. In the analysis information acquisition means, a failure is detected by the failure detection means. In this case, the primary analysis information is acquired based on primary analysis procedure information that is information relating to an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of the failure in the primary analysis.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention can detect a fault and perform an appropriate fault analysis in the remote diagnosis / fault handling device installed in the user environment.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present invention analyzes the cause of the fault based on the primary analysis information acquired by the remote diagnosis / fault handling device by the analysis information acquiring unit. A predetermined character string and / or a numerical value of failure specifying information, which is information for specifying the cause of the failure in the primary analysis, in accordance with the primary analysis procedure information. It is determined whether or not included in the primary analysis information, and when the predetermined character string and / or numerical value is included, based on the predetermined character string and / or numerical value included, It is characterized by identifying the cause of the failure.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention does not need to be dealt with by the management center for all the faults that have occurred, and can perform fault analysis processing in a distributed manner.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present invention, the remote diagnosis / fault handling device acquires operation information, which is information indicating an operation status of the electronic device, from the electronic device. When there is a device operation information acquisition unit and a communication failure occurs in the communication protocol used when the device operation information acquisition unit acquires the operation information, and the operation information cannot be acquired from the electronic device In addition, among the device information that is information related to the electronic device, a priority order for determining a communication protocol to be used when the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault handling device perform data communication via the network is set. Based on the use priority information shown, the communication protocol with the highest priority other than the communication protocol in which the communication failure has occurred is And acquiring the operational information from the electronic device.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention can acquire operation information such as a billing counter necessary for the operation of the system even when a communication failure occurs due to the communication protocol.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / failure handling system of the present invention specifies the cause of the failure in the secondary analysis performed by the remote diagnosis / failure handling device using the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device. Secondary analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the secondary analysis information, which is information for use from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device, in the secondary analysis request means, The primary analysis information used when the failure was analyzed by the analysis means, the failure analysis history information recorded when the failure was analyzed by the primary analysis means, and the device operation information acquisition means The operational information and the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary analysis information acquisition means are transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure response device to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device. , Wherein the requesting the secondary analysis.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention can manage information related to fault analysis and information related to operation of electronic devices that has been performed so far by the management center.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to the present invention is configured such that the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device is transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling device by the secondary analysis requesting means. A secondary analysis means for performing a secondary analysis based on information for secondary analysis, and an addition for analyzing the cause of the failure by the secondary analysis means when the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the secondary analysis means An additional information acquisition command for acquiring information from the electronic device is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus, and additional information acquisition request means for requesting acquisition of the additional information, and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus, Additional information receiving means for executing the additional information acquisition command transmitted by the additional information acquisition requesting means and receiving the additional information acquired from the electronic device. To.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention adds secondary analysis information even if the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of performing the secondary analysis based on the secondary analysis information. And failure analysis can be continued.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to the present invention provides the electronic device in which a failure has occurred when the cause of the failure is specified by the secondary analysis unit in the failure response requesting unit. And / or transmitting a failure response command for performing a failure response to the remote diagnosis / failure response device from the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device to the remote diagnosis / failure response device to request a failure response. And

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present invention does not require the management center to deal directly with the fault that has occurred, and can additionally distribute the fault handling process.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present invention provides the fault handling requesting means when the cause of the fault is not specified by the secondary analysis means and / or the electronic device and / or The remote diagnosis / fault analysis device terminates the operating system and restarts the fault response command from the remote diagnosis / fault analysis instruction device to the remote diagnosis / fault analysis device to request a fault response. And

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling system of the present invention can provisionally handle a failure even when the cause of the failure cannot be finally identified as a result of performing the primary analysis and the secondary analysis.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device is transmitted from the remote diagnostic / fault handling device by the secondary analysis requesting unit. Secondary analysis information and previously transmitted secondary analysis information, and the primary analysis procedure information used when a failure analysis is performed by the primary analysis means in the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus are stored. Based on at least one or more previously transmitted secondary analysis information stored in the storage means and the storage means, the analysis procedure of the primary analysis procedure information stored in the storage means is currently generated An analysis procedure changing means for changing to an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of the failure and / or a failure that may occur in the future, and the latest primary analysis procedure changed by the analysis procedure changing means. An analysis procedure update requesting means for transmitting information and a change in the analysis procedure, and thus a newly required analysis program, to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus and requesting update of the existing primary analysis procedure information; It is characterized by that.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention can deal with faults that may occur in the future based on information on fault analysis that has been performed so far, and prevent faults from occurring. be able to.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention, the remote diagnosis / fault handling device executes the received fault handling command, and the electronic device and / or the remote diagnostic / fault A failure handling means for handling a failure with respect to a handling device, wherein the failure handling means accepts an instruction as to whether or not execution of the failure handling command is permitted, and the received instruction executes the fault handling command. If it is permitted, the failure handling command is executed.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system of the present invention can handle faults in a distributed manner for each user environment, instead of batch handling faults at the management center.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention provides information for secondary analysis, which is information for specifying the cause of a fault transmitted from the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus. Analyzing and instructing the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the fault The remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device connected to the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device via the network and / or the fault acquired from the remote diagnosis / fault response device A remote diagnosis / failure response apparatus that analyzes primary analysis information that is information for analyzing a cause and performs a failure response, an analysis information acquisition unit that acquires the primary analysis information, and the analysis information acquisition unit Primary analysis means for performing a primary analysis of a failure based on the primary analysis information obtained by the above, and when the cause of the failure cannot be specified by the primary analysis means, the electronic device and / or Acquired by the secondary information acquisition means when the cause of the failure could not be specified by the secondary analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the secondary analysis information from the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and the primary analysis means The secondary analysis information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device, and has a secondary analysis requesting means for requesting a secondary analysis of the fault.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling device of the present invention performs a primary analysis on the fault that has occurred, performs fault handling for faults that can be handled by the remote diagnosis / fault handling device installed in the user environment, Only when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of the analysis, the secondary analysis is requested to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device installed in the management center, so that the failure analysis / It is possible to load-balance the failure handling process and handle the failure according to the failure level.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention has fault detection means for detecting a fault occurring in the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus, and the analysis information In the acquisition unit, when a failure is detected by the failure detection unit, the primary analysis information is obtained based on primary analysis procedure information that is information on an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of the failure by the primary analysis unit. It is characterized by acquiring.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention can appropriately acquire information necessary for analyzing the cause of the fault for the fault that has occurred.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling device according to the present invention provides a predetermined failure identification information which is information for identifying a cause of a failure in the primary analysis means according to the primary analysis procedure information. It is determined whether or not a character string and / or a numerical value is included in the primary analysis information, and the predetermined character string included when the predetermined character string and / or numerical value is included. The cause of the failure is specified based on the numerical values.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention does not have to directly handle faults for all faults that have occurred, and can perform distributed fault analysis processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention has device operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information, which is information indicating the operation status of the electronic device, from the electronic device, In the device operation information acquisition means, information related to the electronic device when a communication failure occurs in the communication protocol used when acquiring the operation information and the operation information cannot be acquired from the electronic device. Of the device information, based on use priority information indicating a priority for determining a communication protocol to be used when the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault handling device perform data communication via the network, The operation information is acquired from the electronic device using a communication protocol having the highest priority other than the communication protocol in which the communication failure has occurred. It is characterized in.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus according to the present invention can acquire operation information such as a billing counter necessary for the operation of the system even when a communication failure occurs due to a communication protocol.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention is the secondary analysis requesting means, wherein the primary analysis information used when the fault analysis is performed by the primary analysis means, The failure analysis history information recorded when the failure analysis is performed by the primary analysis unit, the operation information acquired by the device operation information acquisition unit, and the secondary analysis acquired by the secondary analysis information acquisition unit Information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device, and a secondary analysis of the failure performed by the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device is requested.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus according to the present invention can manage information related to failure analysis, information related to operation of electronic devices, and the like performed by the management center.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus of the present invention executes a fault handling command for performing fault handling on the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus in which a fault has occurred. , Having a failure handling means for handling a failure with respect to the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device, wherein the fault handling unit accepts an instruction as to whether or not to permit execution of the fault handling command. When the received instruction is to permit execution of the failure handling command, the failure handling command is executed.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus according to the present invention can handle failures in a distributed manner for each user environment, instead of collectively handling failures at the management center.

  In order to achieve the above object, a remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device of the present invention is information for analyzing the cause of a fault acquired from an electronic device and the electronic device and / or the remote diagnostic / fault handling device. Secondary information which analyzes information for primary analysis and analyzes the cause of the failure transmitted by the remote diagnosis / fault response device connected to the remote diagnosis / fault response device which performs the fault response via the network A remote diagnosis / failure response instructing device that analyzes information for analysis and instructs the remote diagnosis / failure response device to handle a failure, and performs secondary analysis of a failure based on the secondary analysis information And a failure response requesting unit for transmitting a failure response command for performing a failure response to the remote diagnosis / failure response device and requesting a failure response based on a result of the failure analysis by the secondary analysis unit. It is characterized in.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device of the present invention performs a secondary analysis only for failures that cannot be handled by the remote diagnosis / failure response device installed in the user environment, and based on the results of the secondary analysis. , By instructing the remote diagnosis / failure handling device set in the user environment to handle the failure, load analysis of failure analysis and failure handling processing in the remote diagnosis / failure handling system is performed, and the failure is handled according to the failure level. be able to.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device of the present invention analyzes the cause of the failure by the secondary analysis means when the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the secondary analysis means. An additional information acquisition command for acquiring additional information for acquiring the additional information from the electronic device to the remote diagnosis / fault response device, and requesting acquisition of the additional information; and the remote diagnosis / fault response device And the additional information acquisition unit that executes the additional information acquisition command transmitted by the additional information acquisition request unit and receives the additional information acquired from the electronic device.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device according to the present invention performs the secondary analysis based on the secondary analysis information. Add and continue failure analysis.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device according to the present invention provides the fault handling requesting means in which the electronic device in which a fault has occurred is identified when the cause of the fault is specified by the secondary analysis means. A failure response command for performing a failure response to a device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure response device is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure response device to request a response to the failure.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus according to the present invention does not require the management center to deal with a fault that has occurred, and can additionally distribute the fault handling process.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device according to the present invention provides the electronic device and / or the failure handling request means when the cause of the failure is not specified by the secondary analysis means in the failure handling request means. Alternatively, the operating system of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus is terminated, and a fault handling command to be activated again is transmitted to the remote diagnostic / fault analysis apparatus to request the handling of the fault.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus according to the present invention can provisionally handle a failure even when the cause of the failure cannot be finally identified as a result of performing the primary analysis and the secondary analysis.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device of the present invention includes the secondary analysis information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault handling device and the secondary analysis information transmitted in the past, And storage means for storing primary analysis procedure information which is information relating to an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of the failure in the primary analysis in the remote diagnosis / fault handling device, and at least one or more stored in the storage means Based on the secondary analysis information transmitted in the past, the analysis procedure of the primary analysis procedure information stored in the storage means is analyzed for the cause of the failure that has occurred and / or the cause of the failure that may occur in the future. The analysis procedure changing means for changing to the analysis procedure to be performed, the latest primary analysis procedure information changed by the analysis procedure changing means, the change of the analysis procedure, and the newly required And analysis program, and transmitted to the remote diagnostic and failure handling apparatus, and having an analysis procedure update requesting means for requesting an update of existing primary analysis procedure information.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device according to the present invention responds to a failure that may occur in the future based on the information relating to the failure analysis that has been performed so far. Can be prevented.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling method of the present invention provides information for secondary analysis, which is information for identifying the cause of a fault transmitted from the electronic device and the remote diagnostic / fault handling device. Analyzing and instructing the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the fault The remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device connected to the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device via the network and / or the fault acquired from the remote diagnosis / fault response device A remote diagnosis / fault handling method in a remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus that analyzes information for primary analysis, which is information for analyzing a cause, and handles a fault, the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling method An analysis information acquisition procedure for acquiring the primary analysis information from a device, and a primary analysis procedure for performing a primary analysis of a failure based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition procedure; When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis procedure, the secondary analysis information acquisition procedure for acquiring the secondary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and the primary analysis When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the analysis procedure, the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary information acquisition procedure is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device, and the secondary analysis of the failure is performed. A requesting secondary analysis request procedure.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling method of the present invention performs primary analysis on the fault that has occurred, performs fault handling for faults that can be handled by the remote diagnostic / fault handling device installed in the user environment, Only when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of the analysis, the secondary analysis is requested to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device installed in the management center, so that the failure analysis / It is possible to load-balance the failure handling process and handle the failure according to the failure level.

  In order to achieve the above object, a remote diagnosis / fault handling method of the present invention is primary information that is information for analyzing the cause of a fault acquired from an electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device. Secondary analysis, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure transmitted by the remote diagnosis / fault response device connected to the remote diagnosis / fault response device that performs analysis and analysis of the information for analysis. A remote diagnosis / failure response method in a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device that analyzes information for use and instructs the remote diagnosis / failure response device to handle a failure, and is a secondary failure based on the secondary analysis information Based on the secondary analysis procedure for performing the analysis and the result of the failure analysis by the secondary analysis procedure, the failure response command for performing the failure response is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure response device to request the failure response. And having a failure response request procedure.

  Thereby, the remote diagnosis / fault handling method of the present invention performs secondary analysis only for faults that could not be handled by the remote diagnosis / fault handling device installed in the user environment, and based on the results of the secondary analysis, Distribute the failure analysis and failure handling process in the remote diagnosis and failure handling system by instructing the remote diagnosis and failure handling device set in the user environment to handle the failure, and handle the failure according to the failure level. Can do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling program according to the present invention stores secondary analysis information, which is information for identifying the cause of a fault transmitted from the electronic device and the remote diagnostic / fault handling device. Analyzing and instructing the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the fault The remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device connected to the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device via the network and / or the fault acquired from the remote diagnosis / fault response device A remote diagnosis / failure response program in a remote diagnosis / failure response apparatus that analyzes information for primary analysis, which is information for analyzing a cause, and handles a failure, the computer, the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis -Analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the primary analysis information from the failure handling device, and the failure information based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition means A primary analysis means for performing a secondary analysis, and a secondary for acquiring the secondary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus when the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis means When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the analysis information acquisition means and the primary analysis means, the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary information acquisition means is sent to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device. It transmits and functions as a secondary analysis request means for requesting a secondary analysis of the fault.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling program of the present invention performs a primary analysis of the computer on the fault that has occurred, and handles faults that can be handled by the remote diagnostic / fault handling device installed in the user environment. As a result of performing the primary analysis, only when the cause of the failure cannot be specified, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device installed in the management center can be made to function so as to request the secondary analysis.

  Therefore, the remote diagnosis / fault handling program of the present invention can load-balance fault analysis / fault handling processing in the remote diagnostic / fault handling system and perform fault handling according to the fault level.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote diagnosis / fault handling program of the present invention is primary information that is information for analyzing an electronic device and the cause of the fault acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnostic / fault handling device. Secondary analysis, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure transmitted by the remote diagnosis / fault response device connected to the remote diagnosis / fault response device that performs analysis and analysis of the information for analysis. A remote diagnosis / failure response program in a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device that analyzes information for use and instructs the remote diagnosis / failure response device to respond to a failure. A secondary analysis means for performing a secondary analysis of the remote diagnosis and a failure response command for performing a failure response based on a result of the failure analysis by the secondary analysis means. Transmitted to, to function as a fault response requesting means for requesting the failure handling.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling program of the present invention performs a secondary analysis only on faults that cannot be handled by the remote diagnosis / fault handling device installed in the user environment, and obtains the results of the secondary analysis. Based on this, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus set in the user environment can be caused to function to instruct the handling of the failure.

  Therefore, the remote diagnosis / fault handling program of the present invention can load-balance fault analysis / fault handling processing in the remote diagnostic / fault handling system and perform fault handling according to the fault level.

  According to the present invention, a remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus that performs a primary analysis on a fault that has occurred and performs a fault response based on the result of the primary analysis, and a secondary analysis when the cause of the fault cannot be identified in the primary analysis The remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device is configured with the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device that instructs the remote diagnosis / failure response device on the final failure response based on the results of the secondary analysis. Remote diagnosis / fault handling system, remote diagnosis / fault handling system that can load balance fault analysis / fault handling process in remote diagnosis / fault handling system and handle fault according to fault level by performing fault analysis and fault handling It is an object of the present invention to provide a failure response device, a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device, a remote diagnosis / failure response method, and a remote diagnosis / failure response program.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment (Embodiment 1)]
<Hardware configuration of remote diagnosis / fault response device and remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device>
First, the hardware configuration of the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus and the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 and a remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment include a control unit 11, a main storage unit 12, an auxiliary storage unit 13, a network I / F 14, an external It comprises a storage device I / F 15, an external device I / F 16, an output device I / F 17, and an input device I / F 18.

  A control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 11 includes a main storage unit 12, an auxiliary storage unit 13, and a network I / F 14 described below, such as the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 and the remote diagnosis / failure according to the present embodiment. Each device included in the response instruction device 200 is controlled. The control unit 11 is a device that executes a program stored in the main storage unit 12. The control unit 11 receives data from the input device or the storage device, calculates and processes the data, and outputs the data to the output device or the storage device ( (For example, display characters entered on the keyboard on the display).

  A main storage unit (ROM: Read Only Memory, RAM: Random Access Memory) 12 is a device for storing (including temporarily holding) a program executed by the control unit 11 and related data. The ROM stores a program executed by the control unit 11 and related data, and the stored program and related data are expanded (loaded) onto the RAM as needed by the control unit 11 and expanded. The (loaded) program and related data are calculated and processed by the control unit 11.

  The auxiliary storage unit (HD: Hard Disk) 13 is a device that stores basic software such as an OS (Operating System) and application software together with related data. The auxiliary storage unit 13 stores various information (for example, analysis information and operation information) managed by the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 or the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. Managed by database (DB) or file system (FS: File System).

  The network I / F 14 includes peripheral devices having a communication function connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network) constructed by a data transmission path such as a wired and / or wireless line. It is an interface with the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 or the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment.

  The external storage device I / F 15 includes an external storage device (for example, a storage media drive) connected via a data transmission path such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) and the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 according to the present embodiment. Alternatively, it is an interface with the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200.

  The external device I / F 16 includes an external input device (for example, an external HD or a USB memory) connected via a data transmission path such as USB and the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 or remote diagnosis according to the present embodiment. It is an interface with the failure handling instruction device 200.

  The remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment exchange various data (transmit / receive and read / write) with the outside through these interfaces.

  The output device I / F 17 includes an output device (for example, CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)) connected via a data transmission line such as a dedicated cable and the remote diagnosis / It is an interface with the failure handling apparatus 100 or the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200.

  The input device I / F 18 is an input device (for example, a keyboard or a mouse) connected via a data transmission path such as USB and the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 or the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction according to the present embodiment. It is an interface with the device 200.

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 and the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment have the hardware shown in FIG. 1 and have a remote diagnosis function (hereinafter referred to as “fault analysis”) described below. Function ”) and fault response function.

  However, this embodiment only shows an example in which the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment have the same hardware configuration as the information processing apparatus. It is not limited to this hardware configuration. The failure analysis function and failure response function (remote diagnosis / failure response program according to this embodiment) according to the present embodiment are operated, and various data necessary for realizing these functions can be stored, and the communication function is provided. Any hardware configuration capable of bidirectional data communication with other electronic devices may be used. For example, you may comprise only the control part 11, the main memory | storage part 12, the auxiliary memory part 13, and network I / F14 which are shown in FIG.

<Configuration of remote diagnosis / fault response system>
Then, in order to clarify the technical features of the present embodiment, differences between the conventional remote diagnosis / fault handling system and the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional remote diagnosis / fault handling system.

  In the conventional remote diagnosis / failure handling system, as shown in FIG. 2, an administrator terminal 300, a user terminal 400n, and an electronic device 500 are first connected to a network 90 built in a user environment. The external Internet can be accessed through the firewall 600. In addition, a remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 that performs fault analysis and fault handling on the electronic device 500 installed in the user environment is connected to the network 90 built in the management center, and is connected via the firewall 600. Access to the external Internet.

  Under such a network environment, the conventional remote diagnosis / fault handling system receives a diagnosis record (for example, a diagnostic log) from the introduced electronic device 500 for remote diagnosis / fault handling device of the management center. The failure analysis is performed based on the collected diagnostic records (for example, diagnostic logs). Therefore, the conventional remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 performs fault analysis on all diagnostic records (for example, diagnostic logs) collected from various types of electronic devices 500 introduced into a plurality of user environments. The load is large.

  In addition, since the response methods differ depending on the level of failure that occurs, it is inefficient as failure analysis and failure handling operations to analyze and deal with various levels of failure collectively by the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100. It was.

  Therefore, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment solves the conventional problem by the method described below, and performs load analysis of fault analysis and fault handling processing, and fault handling according to the fault level. is there.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the difference between the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment and the conventional remote diagnosis / fault handling system is the first stage of fault analysis (hereinafter referred to as “primary analysis”) in fault analysis. The remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 is installed in the user environment, and the failure analysis cannot be identified in the primary analysis. The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 performs the failure analysis (hereinafter referred to as “secondary analysis”) and instructs the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 based on the analysis result. It is a point installed at the center.

  As described above, in the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment, a fault analysis function and a fault handling function that perform a two-stage fault analysis on a fault that has occurred and perform a final fault response in the user environment. Conventionally, the load of the processing of the management center in the failure analysis and the failure response is distributed to realize the failure response according to the failure level.

<Means for configuring the main functions of the remote diagnosis / fault response system>
Then, each means which comprises the main functions of the remote diagnosis and failure handling system according to the present embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of means constituting main functions of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The failure analysis function and the failure response function of the remote diagnosis / failure response system according to the present embodiment are realized by the functions of the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 and the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device 200 described in FIG. ing. Accordingly, each function of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

<< Remote diagnosis / fault response device >>
The failure analysis function and the failure response function of the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment include a failure detection unit 21, an analysis information acquisition unit 22, a primary analysis unit 23, a failure response unit 24, and a device operation information acquisition unit 31. , Secondary analysis requesting means 32 and secondary analysis information acquiring means 33.

  The failure detection means 21 is a means for detecting a failure that has occurred in the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

  For example, the failure detection means 21 is operation information (for example, a billing counter) that is information indicating the operation status of the electronic device 500 via the network 90 between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100. When exchanging data, the electronic device 500 is requested to acquire operation information (for example, a charging counter) from the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100, and as a result, operation information (for example, a charging counter) can be acquired. It is determined whether or not the data communication has failed.

  The analysis information acquisition unit 22 uses the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure as the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure in the primary analysis when the failure detection unit 21 detects the failure. Obtained from the corresponding device 100.

  The analysis information acquisition means 22 is a primary analysis that is information (analysis procedure item list) relating to an analysis procedure performed in the primary analysis when acquiring information for primary analysis from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. Obtain primary analysis information based on the procedure information. The primary analysis procedure information is stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13, and the value of the stored primary analysis procedure information is obtained when the analysis information acquisition unit 22 acquires the primary analysis information. Refer to

  For example, if the analysis information acquisition unit 22 is set to perform analysis in the order of “1. packet analysis” and “2. log analysis” in the primary analysis procedure information, “1. packet analysis”, Acquire packet data and logs necessary for “2. Log analysis”.

  In “1. packet analysis”, packet data exchanged over the network 90 between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 is used using a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer). get. Further, in “2. Log analysis”, various logs indicating the operation state of each function of the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 such as a process log and a system log are stored in the electronic device 500 and / or Alternatively, it is acquired using a predetermined information acquisition command that can be executed by the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100.

  The “predetermined information acquisition command” here is a command that can be executed on the OS installed in the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100.

  For example, when a process log or system log is acquired from the electronic device 500 by remote operation, the rsh command or rcp command is used to execute “rsh -l admin mfp_1 ps -ef> mfp_1_ps from the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100. .log (log in to mfp_1 of the electronic device 500 as user admin, execute “ps -axf”, and output the result to the file name “mfp_1_ps.log” of the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100) ”or“ rcp admin @ mfp_1: / var / log / messages mfp_1_sys.log (User admin manages the “messages” file stored in the file path “/ var / log /” from mfp_1 of the electronic device 500, and the remote diagnosis / failure handling device. To the file name "mfp_1_sys.log" of 100.) "(Refer to the reference manual of each OS for the detailed specifications of the" command ".) Remote diagnosis of system log It can be obtained in the failure handling apparatus 100.

  The primary analysis means 23 analyzes the cause of the failure based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition means 22 according to the analysis procedure information (primary analysis).

  The primary analysis means 23 specifies the cause of the failure from the primary analysis information using the failure specifying information that is information for specifying the cause of the failure in the failure analysis. That is, the primary analysis unit 23 determines whether or not failure specifying information is included in the primary analysis information, and specifies the cause of the failure from the failure specifying information included in the primary analysis information.

  For example, the primary analysis means 23 analyzes the process log which is the primary analysis information, and “root 888 0.0 0.0 0 0 tty ZN 12:55 0:00 (abc)” is recorded in the process log. The process abc is in a zombie state ("zombie state" is a process that has not been properly terminated. Child process) The termination process is performed by the parent process (the process that created the child process, but if there is a problem with the parent process, the child process becomes a zombie state).

  Here, how to view the process log will be briefly described. For example, if the record of the process log is “root 888 0.0 0.0 0 0 tty ZN 12:55 0:00 (abc)”, “USER: root” indicating the name of the user who starts the process and “ “PID: 888”, “% CPU: 0.0” indicating the percentage of CPU time used by the process, “% MEM: 0.0” indicating the percentage of memory occupied by the process, “VSZ” indicating the usage on the virtual memory ： 0 ”,“ RSS: 0 ”indicating usage in real memory,“ TTY: tty ”indicating TTY control terminal name,“ STAT: ZN ”indicating process status (R is executable, S is sleep) Status, D indicates I / O waiting status, ZN indicates zombie status.), “START: 12:55” indicating the date and time the process was started, “TIME: 0.00” indicating the actual working time of the process, An execution command (such as an application name) started as a process means “COMMAND: abc”.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface for setting information related to primary analysis according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is data of information related to primary analysis according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure.

  The failure identification information used in the primary analysis means 23 can be set from the administrator terminal 300 via a user interface for setting information related to primary analysis as shown in FIG.

  In the user interface shown in FIG. 5, a log to be used based on an analysis procedure is specified among various logs that are primary analysis information for each model of the electronic device 500 that is a management target of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. “Check box”, “analysis log name” which is various log names as primary analysis information, “cause identification keyword (character string)” and “cause identification keyword” (failure identification information corresponding to the log to be analyzed) By entering each value (for example, a character string or a numeric value) in the input field corresponding to “Numeric Value” ”and clicking the [Confirm] button, the entered value can be set.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a user interface for setting information relating to the primary analysis for the model A among the electronic devices 500 installed in the user environment. In the case of the model A, a log used as primary analysis information Are set as “process log”, “system log”, and “7777 log” (the check box is checked). The "process log" includes "character string" ZN "" and "numerical value (9999)" of failure identification information, and the "system log" includes "string" Not found Certification "and" character string of failure identification information " “Character string“ leak ”” and “Numeric value (00ff)” are set in “Numeric value (65536)” and “No. 7777 log”. Each set value that has been set is stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 of the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 in a data structure in a table format, for example, as shown in FIG. Logs to be used and failure identification information are associated with each other and managed.

  As described above, the failure specifying information can be set in advance for each model of the electronic device 500 to be managed by a user interface as shown in FIG. Therefore, the primary analysis unit 23 identifies the cause of the failure from each corresponding log based on the value (character string and / or numerical value) of the failure identification information stored in the nonvolatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13. To do.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the cause of the failure is identified by the primary analysis unit 23, the failure handling unit 24 responds to the identified failure. Further, the failure handling means 24 executes the transmitted command even when a failure handling command for instructing the failure is sent from the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 described later, and responds to the specified failure. I do.

  For example, the failure handling unit 24 analyzes the process log that is the primary analysis information by the primary analysis unit 23, and resolves the process zombie state when the cause of the failure that the process abc is a zombie state is specified. Therefore, the parent process ABC of the process abc is terminated once and restarted (the parent process is terminated if there is a problem with the child process). At this time, the failure handling means 24 performs the failure handling by a predetermined failure handling command for restarting the parent process ABC of the process abc of the electronic device 500 (process ID: 999 of the parent process ABC).

  Here, the “predetermined failure handling command” is a command that can be executed on the OS installed in the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100.

  For example, when restarting the parent process ABC of the process abc of the electronic device 500, the rsh command or the like is used to execute “rsh -l admin mfp_1 kill -9 999; ABC -x ( Log in to mfp_1 of electronic device 500 as user admin, forcibly terminate process ABC with process ID 999, and then start process ABC again. ”(For detailed specifications of“ command ”and how to read the process log, etc. (Refer to the reference manual of each OS.) By executing “”, it is possible to restart the process relating to the function in which the failure has occurred in the electronic device 500 and to restore the normal operation state.

  Further, the failure handling means 24 determines whether or not to execute the command based on the permission information of the failure handling command to be executed when performing the failure handling. That is, the failure handling unit 24 determines whether or not the failure handling command to be executed is a failure handling command permitted by the administrator, and executes the failure handling command permitted to be executed.

  The permission information of the failure handling command is displayed, for example, on the administrator terminal 300 by displaying a failure handling command execution permission [OK] window (from the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100, an instruction to enable / disable execution of the failure handling command). The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for displaying the permission button for accepting the request is transmitted to the administrator terminal 300), and the permission information of the failure handling command is set by receiving the administrator's instruction. In addition, the permission information of the failure handling commands permitted in the past by the administrator is stored in a nonvolatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100, and the failure handling means 24 When executing the failure handling command, the failure handling is performed based on the stored permission information.

  The device operation information acquisition unit 31 acquires operation information (for example, a billing counter) from the electronic device 500.

  For example, when exchanging operation information (for example, a billing counter) of the electronic device 500 between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 via the network 90, the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100. Requesting the electronic device 500 to acquire operation information (for example, a charging counter), and as a result, the operation information (for example, a charging counter) cannot be acquired (a data communication failure is detected by the failure detection means 21). Operation information (for example, an accounting counter) must be acquired without stopping the operation function of the system according to the present embodiment. Therefore, the device operation information acquisition unit 31 includes a unit that performs alternative communication, that is, the communication protocol in which a failure has occurred, which is used when acquiring operation information (for example, a charging counter). The operation information (for example, a billing program) is acquired by switching to another communication protocol that allows normal data communication. At this time, the device operation information acquisition unit 31 is used when the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 perform data communication via the network 90, such as operation information (for example, a billing counter). A communication protocol to be used when performing alternative communication is determined based on use priority information indicating a priority for determining a communication protocol to be used.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface for setting information related to the electronic device 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 relates to the electronic device 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of information.

  The use priority information of the communication protocol used by the device operation information acquisition unit 31 is set from the administrator terminal 300 via a user interface for setting device information that is information about the electronic device 500 as shown in FIG. Can do.

  In the user interface shown in FIG. 7, the “IP address” indicating the IP address of the electronic device 500 that is the management target of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100, the “model name” that is the model name of the electronic device 500, and the electronic device It is possible to set “device name” which is the device name of 500 and “communication protocol use priority” indicating the priority of communication protocols used in data communication.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a user interface for setting information related to all devices of the electronic device 500 installed in the user environment. The user interface of the electronic device A (model A) with the IP address “192.168.xx.xx1” is shown. In this case, the communication protocol used for data communication has the highest priority (indicated by priority 1 in the figure) as the communication protocol “HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Security)” and second (indicated by priority 2 in the figure). ) Is set to “SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)” and the third (shown in priority order 3 in the drawing) is set to “FTP (File Transfer Protocol)”. Each set value is stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 of the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 in a data structure in a table format, for example, as shown in FIG. The device name and the use priority information of the communication protocol to be used are associated and managed.

  As described above, the communication protocol use priority information can be set in advance for each electronic device 500 that is managed by a user interface as shown in FIG. Therefore, the device operation information acquisition unit 31 has the highest priority among the available communication protocols based on the value of the communication protocol use priority information stored in the non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13. Operation information (for example, a charging counter) is acquired from the electronic device 500 using a high communication protocol.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the secondary analysis request unit 32 performs remote diagnosis installed in the management center when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of the failure analysis performed by the primary analysis unit 23 according to the analysis procedure. Request the failure response instruction device 200 for a failure analysis (secondary analysis) that is more advanced than the primary analysis.

  The secondary analysis request means 32 obtains the primary analysis information (for example, packet data, process log, system log, etc.) acquired by the analysis information acquisition means 22 and used for the primary analysis when requesting the secondary analysis. The analysis history information of the primary analysis performed by the primary analysis unit 23, the operation information acquired by the device operation information acquisition unit 31 (for example, a charging counter), and the cause of the failure are analyzed in the secondary analysis described below. Information for secondary analysis is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 installed in the management center.

  The secondary analysis information acquisition means 33 receives the secondary analysis information transmitted from the previously described secondary analysis request means 32 to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 installed in the management center, as an electronic device 500. And / or from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

  The secondary analysis information acquisition means 33 is information (analysis procedure item list) related to an analysis procedure performed in the secondary analysis when acquiring secondary analysis information from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100. The secondary analysis information is acquired based on the secondary analysis procedure information.

  For example, when the secondary analysis information acquisition unit 33 is set to perform analysis in the order of “1. analysis of access log” and “2. analysis of log No. XXX” in the information related to the secondary analysis procedure, Obtain the network access log and XXX log required for “1. Access log analysis” and “2. XXX log analysis”. Further, when acquiring various logs indicating the use status of each function of the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 such as a network access log and an XXX log, the analysis information acquisition unit 22 described above and Similarly, the information is acquired using a predetermined information acquisition command (for example, rsh command, rcp command, etc.) that can be executed by the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100.

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment implements the fault analysis function and the fault handling function (A) by performing the above-described units according to the following procedure. .

(Procedure A-1) Failure Detection and Primary Analysis Information Acquisition The failure detection means 21 detects a failure, and the analysis information acquisition means 22 uses the analysis procedure information, which is information relating to the analysis procedure of the primary analysis, to the electronic device 500. And / or primary analysis information that is information for identifying the cause of the failure is acquired from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

(Procedure A-2) Performing primary analysis Based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition means 22 and the fault identification information that is information for specifying the cause of the fault, the primary analysis means 23 performs a primary analysis. The primary analysis unit 23 determines whether or not the failure analysis information is included in the primary analysis information, and specifies the cause of the failure (for example, a character string “ZN” indicating the zombie state of the process in the process log). For example).

(Procedure A-3-1) Failure handling When the cause of the failure can be identified as a result of failure analysis by the primary analysis unit 23, the failure handling unit 24 performs failure handling for the identified failure. The failure handling means 24 executes a failure handling command for solving the specified cause of the failure (for example, forcibly terminating the zombie process and starting it again (restarting the process)).

(Procedure A-3-2) Secondary analysis request Used when performing failure analysis by the primary analysis means 23 when the cause of the failure could not be identified as a result of failure analysis by the primary analysis means 23 The primary analysis information, the analysis history information of the primary analysis performed by the primary analysis means 23, and the device operation information acquisition means 31, the electronic device 500 makes an alternative communication protocol (the communication protocol with the highest priority among the available communication protocols). .) Obtained from the electronic device 500 by the operation information (for example, a billing program) obtained by using the second analysis information acquisition means 33 and the secondary analysis information acquisition means 33. Secondary analysis requesting means 32 receives secondary analysis information for performing failure analysis (secondary analysis) more advanced than analysis (to analyze the cause of failure in secondary analysis). From this, it transmits to the remote diagnosis / failure analysis instruction apparatus 200.

<< Remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device >>
The failure analysis function and the failure response function of the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment include an analysis procedure update request unit 41, an analysis procedure change unit 42, an additional information acquisition request unit 43, an additional information reception unit 44, It comprises failure response request means 45, storage means 51, and secondary analysis means 52.

  The analysis procedure update request means 41 updates the information related to the analysis procedure in the primary analysis performed by the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 to the latest information.

  The analysis procedure update request means 41 receives primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list), which is information related to the analysis procedure performed in the primary analysis, changed by the analysis procedure changing means 42 described below, from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus. To 100.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 receives the latest primary analysis procedure information (item list of existing analysis procedures) received from the existing primary analysis procedure information stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13. Replace with procedure information (item list of analysis procedure after change) (for example, execute cp command). Thereafter, when a failure is detected by the failure detection unit 21, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 uses the analysis information acquisition unit 22 based on the latest primary analysis procedure information (item list of the changed analysis procedure). To obtain information for primary analysis.

  The analysis procedure changing unit 42 changes the analysis procedure performed by the primary analysis unit 23 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 to the latest analysis procedure.

  The analysis procedure changing means 42 analyzes the characteristics of the fault that has occurred based on the primary analysis information, the primary analysis history information, etc. transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 by the secondary analysis requesting means 32, Based on the analysis result, the primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list), which is information related to the analysis procedure, is changed to an analysis procedure that can detect a sign that a failure has occurred in the primary analysis.

  For example, in order to find “a precursor to a failure due to a process runaway”, “% CPU”, which indicates the percentage of CPU time used by the process, recorded in the process log, which is the primary analysis information Focus on the value of “% MEM” that indicates the percentage of memory occupied by the process.

  If a process runs out of control, resources are often wasted, and the value of "% CPU" and "% MEM" is increased abnormally to determine whether the process is running out of control. Is attached. In other words, if the value of “% CPU” and “% MEM” of a process is extremely large compared to the normal value, it can be determined that the process is likely to be out of control (however, (It is necessary to know in advance how large the "% CPU" and "% MEM" values of each process created when an application or daemon is run). Therefore, it analyzes how large the “% CPU” and “% MEM” values of the process are compared with the normal values, and finds a process that may run away (a sign of a failure).

  In this way, the analysis procedure changing means 42 analyzes the values of the CPU usage rate, the memory usage rate, etc. based on the primary analysis information, the primary analysis history information, etc. Based on the results, an analysis procedure (such as a procedure that analyzes the values of CPU usage “% CPU” and memory usage “% MEM”, etc.) that can detect a sign of failure in the primary analysis. The primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list), which is information related to the analysis procedure, is changed.

  The additional information acquisition request unit 43 and the additional information reception unit 44 request the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 for additional information for performing more detailed failure analysis in the secondary analysis described later, and perform remote diagnosis / failure handling. The apparatus 100 receives additional information acquired according to the request.

  First, the additional information acquisition request unit 43 obtains additional information necessary for further detailed failure analysis when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of the secondary analysis, and the electronic device 500 and / or An information acquisition command is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 for acquisition from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

  The information acquisition command transmitted by the additional information acquisition request unit 43 is the same as the information acquisition command executed by the analysis information acquisition unit 22 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100, and a method for specifying information to be acquired (for example, The only difference is that the file name is specified.

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 executes the information acquisition command transmitted by the additional information acquisition request unit 43, and receives the requested additional information from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100. get. Thereafter, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 transmits the acquired additional information to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200. Next, the additional information receiving unit 44 receives the additional information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 and performs a secondary analysis based on the received additional information.

  The failure response request unit 45 requests (instructs) the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 to respond to the specified failure when the cause of the failure is specified by the secondary analysis described later.

  The fault response requesting means 45 requests (instructs) the remote diagnosis / fault response apparatus 100 to respond to the specified fault when the cause of the fault can be specified as a result of the secondary analysis. A failure handling command is transmitted to the failure handling apparatus 100.

  The failure handling command transmitted by the failure handling request unit 45 is the same as the failure handling command executed by the failure handling unit 24 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100, and a fault handling method (for example, forcibly terminates the process) But only depends on the cause of the failure.

  Further, the failure response request unit 45 performs remote diagnosis / failure when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of further detailed failure analysis based on the additional information received by the additional information acquisition / reception unit 44. The corresponding device 100 is dealt with by once ending the OS of the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 and starting up again (OS restart). At this time, the failure response request unit 45 performs failure response by a predetermined failure response command that restarts the OS of the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100.

  The “predetermined failure handling command” here refers to “rsh -l admin mfp_1 shutdown” from the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 using the rsh command or the like, for example, when the power of the electronic device 500 is restarted. -r (Log in to mfp_1 of electronic device 500 as user admin, quit the OS once, and then restart it.) "(Refer to the reference manual of each OS for the detailed specifications of" command ".) )), The OS itself in which the function is executed, including the function in which the failure has occurred in the electronic device 500, can be restarted and restored to a normal operating state.

  The storage unit 51 stores various types of information (for example, primary analysis information, primary analysis history, secondary analysis information, transmitted by the secondary analysis request unit 32 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 described above. Operation information, etc.) and primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list) and the like are stored.

  For example, the storage unit 51 stores a plurality of data (information on analysis) by a list structure (a data type that enables continuous processing by referring to the next data portion using a pointer). Each information (for example, information for primary analysis, analysis history of primary analysis, etc.) is stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 included in the remote diagnosis / failure instruction device 200.

  The secondary analysis means 52 performs primary analysis of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 based on the secondary analysis information transmitted by the secondary analysis request means 32 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 described above. A more detailed failure analysis is performed than the primary analysis performed by the means 23.

  The secondary analysis unit 52 inputs the secondary analysis information transmitted by the secondary analysis request unit 32 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 to a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer), for more details. The cause of a serious failure. Therefore, the secondary analysis information is information necessary when performing failure analysis with a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer) used by the secondary analysis means 52, and is included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100. It is acquired from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 by the secondary analysis information acquisition means 33.

  The secondary analysis unit 52 uses a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer) based on the secondary analysis information acquired from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 to check the fault. Identify the cause of

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment implements the above-described means according to the following procedure, thereby realizing the failure analysis function and the failure handling function (B). Yes.

(Procedure B-1) Information acquisition and information storage Various information transmitted by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 (for example, primary analysis information, primary analysis history, secondary analysis) Information, operation information, etc.) is acquired and stored in the storage means 51. The analysis procedure update unit 42 changes the primary analysis procedure information based on the primary analysis information stored in the storage unit 51 and the analysis history of the primary analysis, and the analysis procedure update request unit 41 changes the primary analysis procedure information. The primary analysis procedure information (latest primary analysis procedure information) is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

(Procedure B-2) Performing secondary analysis Based on the secondary analysis information transmitted by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100, the secondary analysis means 52 performs more detailed analysis than the primary analysis. Perform secondary analysis, which is failure analysis. As a result of failure analysis based on the secondary analysis information by the secondary analysis means 52, if the cause of the failure cannot be identified, the additional information acquisition request means 43 adds necessary for identifying the cause of the failure. An information acquisition command for acquiring information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 acquires additional information from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the request from the additional information acquisition request unit 43, and the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200. Send to. The transmitted additional information is received by the additional information receiving unit 44, and the secondary analysis unit 52 performs the failure analysis again based on the received additional information to identify the cause of the failure.

(Procedure B-3-1) Failure response instruction As a result of failure analysis by the secondary analysis means 52, if the cause of the failure can be identified, a failure response request is made to perform failure response for the identified failure. The means 45 transmits a failure handling command to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 having the failure handling means 24. As a result, the fault handling unit 24 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes a fault handling command for solving the cause of the identified fault.

(Procedure B-3-2) Temporary failure handling As a result of failure analysis performed by the secondary analysis means 23, if the cause of the failure cannot be identified, the failure can be dealt with even if the failure cannot be identified. The failure response request unit 45 transmits a failure response command to the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 having the failure response unit 24. As a result, the fault handling means 24 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes a fault handling command for solving a fault that could not be identified (for example, the OS of the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnostic / fault handling apparatus 100). Quit once and restart it (OS restart etc.).

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment includes the fault analysis function, the fault handling function (A), and the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 described above. The failure analysis function and the failure handling function (B) have failure analysis and failure handling in stages.

  Therefore, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment can load-balance fault analysis / fault handling processing in the remote diagnosis / fault handling system and perform fault handling according to the fault level.

<Basic processing procedure from fault analysis to fault handling in remote diagnosis and fault handling system>
Specific processing procedures of the failure analysis function and the failure handling function of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, in order to explain the processing procedure in an easy-to-understand manner, in FIGS. 9 to 15, when a communication failure occurs in the communication protocol HTTPS used in data communication performed between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100. In the following, it will be described how the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment performs a process from fault analysis to fault handling for a communication fault that has occurred.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example (fault detection) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  Since the charging counter is closed, as shown in FIG. 9, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment uses the communication protocol HTTPS to acquire operation information including the charging counter from the electronic device 500. However, for some reason, the data communication using the communication protocol HTTPS performed between the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 and the electronic device 500 has failed.

  In response to this, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 first issues an IP packet to the host whose network communication is to be confirmed, and a ping command for confirming whether the packet has arrived correctly and a response is made, It is executed for the electronic device 500 to check whether the network 90 between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 is normal. Furthermore, if it is normal, the communication protocol HTTPS is used again to try to acquire operation information for a specified number of times (retry). As a result, the network 90 between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 is normal (when there is a response at the time of ping execution), and the failure that the data communication using the communication protocol HTTPS fails, It is detected by the failure detection means 21 (processing procedure corresponding to (1) in the figure).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example (analysis information acquisition) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment detects the HTTPS communication failure by the failure detection unit 21, and the primary analysis procedure information ( Based on the analysis procedure item list), the following primary analysis information necessary for analyzing the cause of the failure is acquired from the electronic device 500 (processing corresponding to (2) to (3) in the figure) procedure).

[Information for primary analysis]
-Process log, system log, and 7777 log of electronic device 500-Process log and system log of remote diagnosis / fault response device 100-During data communication between electronic device 500 and remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 In the packet data analysis information acquisition means 22, in order to acquire the process log and system log in the primary analysis information, it can be executed on the electronic device 500 and / or the OS installed in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. Rsh command, rcp command, etc., from the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100, "rsh -l admin mfp_1 ps -ef>mfp_1_ps.log" or "rcp admin @ mfp_1: / var / log / messages" By executing “mfp_1_sys.log” (the processing procedure corresponding to (2) in the figure), each information such as the process log and system log of the electronic device 500 can be obtained from a remote diagnosis / failure pair. To get the device 100 (process steps corresponding to (3) in the figure).

  In addition, the analysis information acquisition unit 22 acquires predetermined packet data in the data communication using the communication protocol HTTPS between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 in order to acquire packet data (for example, a network analyzer or the like). .) Is used to collect packet data of the network 90 (processing procedure corresponding to (3) in the figure).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example (primary analysis) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes primary analysis information (process) acquired from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 by the analysis information acquisition unit 22. Based on the log, system log, packet data, etc.), the failure analysis is performed by the primary analysis means 23 (processing procedure corresponding to (4) in the figure).

  The primary analysis means 23 is information stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100, with a data structure as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not the cause identification keyword (character string and / or numerical value) of the failure identification information is included in the primary analysis information, and the cause of the failure is identified from the included failure identification information.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example (secondary analysis request) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs secondary analysis requesting means 32 when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of failure analysis by the primary analyzing means 23. To transmit the following secondary analysis information necessary for performing more detailed failure analysis than the primary analysis to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 (corresponding to (5) to (6) in the figure) Procedure to do).

[Secondary analysis information]
-No. 147 log of the electronic device 500-Network access log of the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 At that time, the secondary analysis requesting means 32, in addition to the secondary analysis information, the primary analysis information used in the primary analysis, The analysis history information of the primary analysis and the operation information (for example, a billing counter) that the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 tries to acquire are also transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 ((6) in the figure). Corresponding to the procedure).

  The secondary analysis information is obtained from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 by executing the information acquisition command by the secondary analysis information acquisition unit 33 as performed by the analysis information acquisition unit 22. get. Further, since the operation information (for example, a charging counter) could not be acquired due to a communication failure, the operation information (for example, the charging counter) is stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 in FIG. Based on the use priority order information for determining the communication protocol to be used when performing data communication, which is stored in the data structure as shown, the device operation information acquisition unit 31 uses the communication unit to perform the alternative communication and uses it due to a communication failure Among communication protocols other than HTTPS, the highest priority communication protocol SNMP (in FIG. 8, when the electronic device 500 is model A) is used to obtain operation information such as a billing counter from the electronic device 500 (FIG. (Procedure corresponding to (5) in the middle).

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example (secondary analysis) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment includes various information (for example, primary analysis information) transmitted by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100. , An analysis history of primary analysis, information for secondary analysis, operation information, etc.) is acquired and stored in the storage means 51. The analysis procedure update unit 42 changes the primary analysis procedure information based on the primary analysis information stored in the storage unit 51 and the analysis history of the primary analysis, and the analysis procedure update request unit 41 changes the primary analysis procedure information. Primary analysis procedure information (latest primary analysis procedure information) is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 (processing procedure corresponding to (7) in the figure).

  Thereafter, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 performs the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 based on the secondary analysis information transmitted by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100. Perform more detailed failure analysis than primary analysis. The secondary analysis means 52 analyzes the cause of the failure from the secondary analysis information using a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer).

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example (additional information acquisition) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment cannot identify the cause of the fault as a result of the fault analysis performed by the secondary analysis unit 52 based on the secondary analysis information. In this case, the additional information acquisition request unit 43 acquires additional information necessary for identifying the cause of the failure. For example, the rsh command “rsh -l admin mfp_1 xxx> mfp_1_xxx.log” : / var / log / xxx mfp_1_xxx.log ”and other information acquisition commands such as the rcp command are transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes the received information acquisition command in accordance with the request from the additional information acquisition request unit 43, and acquires additional information from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response apparatus 100. (The processing procedure corresponding to (8) in the figure), the acquired additional information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200. The transmitted additional information is received by the additional information receiving means 44 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 (processing procedure corresponding to (9) in the figure) and received again by the secondary analysis means 52. Perform failure analysis based on the additional information to identify the cause of the failure.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example (fault handling) of an operation procedure of the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment performs the fault analysis when the cause of the fault is identified as a result of the fault analysis by the secondary analysis unit 52. In order to respond to the failure, the failure response request unit 45 sends a failure response command such as “rsh -l admin mfp_1 kill -9 999; ABC -x” to the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 having the failure response unit 24. Is transmitted (processing procedure corresponding to (10) in the figure). As a result, the fault handling unit 24 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes a fault handling command for solving the cause of the specified fault (a processing procedure corresponding to (11) in the figure).

  In addition, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 performs fault handling for a failure that cannot be identified when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of failure analysis by the secondary analysis unit 23. Then, the failure response request unit 45 transmits a failure response command such as “rsh -l admin mfp_1 shutdown -r” to the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 having the failure response unit 24 (corresponding to (10) in the figure). Procedure to do). As a result, the failure handling means 24 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 executes a failure handling command for solving a failure that could not be identified (a processing procedure corresponding to (11) in the figure) (for example, The OS of the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 is terminated and restarted (OS restart, etc.).

<Processing procedure in remote diagnosis / fault response device>
From here, about the specific processing procedure of the failure analysis function and the failure handling function that the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 that constitutes the remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to the present embodiment described in FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, for example, develops (loads) a program for performing remote diagnosis / failure handling processing stored in the auxiliary storage unit 13 on the RAM, which is the main storage unit 12, and performs control. This is executed by the unit 11. At this time, the following processing procedure is executed.

  In the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the fault detection unit 21 performs data communication between the electronic device 500 using the generated communication protocol HTTPS and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 (operation information of the electronic device 500). The failure that cannot be obtained is detected (S101).

  In the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, when a failure is detected by the failure detection unit 21, the failure is detected by the analysis information acquisition unit 22 based on the primary analysis procedure information (item list of analysis procedure). Is obtained from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. The primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list) referred to by the analysis information acquisition means 22 is the analysis procedure changing means 42 of the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200, and is the latest information based on the past failure analysis history. The analysis procedure update request means 41 changes the existing primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list) stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 to The latest primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list) is replaced (S102).

  In the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the analysis information acquisition unit 22 first performs data communication between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 using the communication protocol HTTPS for a specified number of times. In the meantime, the packet data of the network 90 is collected by a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer, etc.). (S103).

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer) when data communication is possible within a specified number of times (when S104 is YES). Packet data collection is stopped, and operation information such as a billing counter that should originally be acquired from the electronic device 500 is acquired (S115).

  Further, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment allows the process information and the system to be processed by the analysis information acquisition unit 22 when the data communication is not recovered even when the specified number of times is reached (when S104 is NO). Various types of information such as logs are acquired from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 based on the primary analysis procedure information (analysis procedure item list) (S105). At this time, the analysis information acquisition means 22 executes an information acquisition command for acquiring various information such as a process log and a system log.

  Next, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment analyzes the cause of the failure by the primary analysis unit 23 based on the acquired primary analysis information (S106).

  In the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the primary analysis means 23 uses the primary analysis means 23 to specify the cause identification keyword (character string and / or numerical value) that is the failure identification information for identifying the cause of the failure. (S107).

  As a result, when the cause identification keyword is included in the primary analysis information (when S107 is YES: a known failure), the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 according to the present embodiment uses the fault handling unit 24. Based on the included cause specifying keyword, a failure handling command for responding to the specified failure is executed (S116). Thereafter, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 acquires operation information such as a billing counter from the electronic device 500 by using the communication protocol HTTPS that enables data communication (S117).

  In the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, in the primary analysis unit 23, when the cause specifying keyword is not included in the primary analysis information (when S107 is NO: the cause of the fault can be specified). If not, it is determined whether or not there is information necessary for performing a more detailed failure analysis than the primary analysis based on the analysis procedure of the secondary analysis to be performed next (S108).

  As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs secondary analysis by the secondary analysis information acquisition means 33 when there is information necessary for secondary analysis (when S108 is YES). Secondary analysis information for analyzing the cause of the failure is acquired from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 (S109). At this time, the secondary analysis information acquisition means 33 executes an information acquisition command for acquiring secondary analysis information.

  Next, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs data communication between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 by means of performing alternative communication of the device operation information acquisition unit 31. Based on the usage priority information that determines the priority of the communication protocol to be used when performing the communication protocol that cannot be used due to a communication failure, use the communication protocol with the highest priority among the communication protocols other than HTTPS. Operation information such as is acquired from the electronic device 500 (S110).

  Next, since the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has failed to identify the cause of the failure as a result of the failure analysis by the primary analysis unit 23, in S103, S105, and S109, the analysis information acquisition unit 22, information obtained by the secondary analysis information acquisition means 33, etc. (primary analysis information and secondary analysis information), and a billing counter obtained from the electronic device 500 by the equipment operation information acquisition means 31 in S110 Operation information and the like are transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 (S111).

  Further, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, when the fault analysis is performed by the primary analysis unit 23, and the cause of the fault can be identified, the billing acquired from the electronic device 500 in S115 or S117. Operation information such as a counter is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200.

  At this time, various data transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 are stored in a nonvolatile manner such as the auxiliary storage unit 13 by the storage means 51 of the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200. Stored in the storage device.

  Thereafter, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment waits for a request for either “fault handling” or “acquisition of additional information” from the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 (S112).

  When the request received from the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device 200 is a “fault response” request (when S113 is a “fault response request”), the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 according to the present embodiment is a fault response unit. 24, the failure response command for responding to the specified failure transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device 200 is executed (S114).

  In the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, when the request received from the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 is an “additional information acquisition request” (when S113 is an “additional information acquisition request”). Then, an information acquisition command for acquiring additional information necessary for analyzing the cause of the failure in the secondary analysis transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 is executed (S118). As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 executes the information acquisition command, and the additional information acquired from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 is sent to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200. Transmit (S119).

  The remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment ends the fault analysis / fault handling process after performing the processing procedure of S114.

  Further, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs the processing procedure of S118 and then proceeds to the processing procedure of S112 again.

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs a primary analysis on the fault that has occurred and performs the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus installed in the user environment according to the processing procedure shown in FIG. If the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of performing the failure response on the failure that can be handled by 100 and performing the primary analysis, the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device 200 installed in the management center is requested to perform the secondary analysis. This is how the procedure is implemented. In addition, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs alternative communication so that the operation service is not affected even if a failure occurs, and operation information such as a billing counter is obtained by another communication protocol. The processing procedure of obtaining from the electronic device 500 is realized.

<Regarding the processing procedure in the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device>
Next, a specific processing procedure of the failure analysis function and the failure handling function included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 constituting the remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to the present embodiment described with reference to FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure in the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a program for performing remote diagnosis / failure handling processing stored in the auxiliary storage unit 13, as with the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 described above. Is loaded (loaded) on the RAM serving as the main storage unit 12 and executed by the control unit 11. At this time, the following processing procedure is executed.

  The remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment waits for a “secondary analysis” request from the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 (S201).

  Next, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment stores various information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 100 in the auxiliary storage unit 13 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 or the like. The data is stored in a nonvolatile storage device (S202).

  The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment determines whether or not secondary analysis information is included among various pieces of information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 (S203).

  When the secondary analysis information is included (when S203 is YES), the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment uses the secondary analysis request unit 32 included in the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100. As a secondary analysis is required, the secondary analysis means 52 performs a more detailed failure analysis than the primary analysis by using a predetermined tool (for example, a network analyzer, etc.) based on the secondary analysis information. Perform (S204).

  Further, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment, when the secondary analysis information is not included (when S203 is NO), sends the fault diagnosis / fault handling device 100 to the fault analysis / fault. It is notified that the processing of various data necessary for the handling and operation service has been completed, and the processing is terminated (S209).

  The remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is the result of fault analysis performed by the secondary analysis unit 52 based on the secondary analysis information currently transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100, It is determined whether the cause of the error has been identified (S205).

  As a result of performing the secondary analysis, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment can identify the cause of the fault based on the secondary analysis information (when S205 is YES), The means 45 transmits a failure handling command for dealing with the specified failure to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 (S211). As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes the fault handling command transmitted by the fault handling request unit 45 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 by the fault handling unit 24.

  In addition, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment performs the secondary analysis, and as a result, when the cause of the failure cannot be identified based on the secondary analysis information (when S205 is NO), Based on the information regarding the secondary analysis procedure, it is determined whether there is additional information for identifying the cause of the failure (S206).

  The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment acquires additional information for identifying the cause of the failure by the additional information acquisition request unit 43 when there is additional information (when S206 is YES). The acquisition command is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 (S207). As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes the information acquisition command transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200, and acquires additional information from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. The acquired additional information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200.

  The remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment waits until receiving additional information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 (S208).

  When the additional information receiving unit 44 receives additional information from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 (when S208 is YES), the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment returns to S204 for secondary analysis. The means 52 performs a secondary analysis based on the additional information. The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 performs the processing procedure of S204 to S208 until new additional information exists based on the information related to the secondary analysis procedure while the cause of the failure cannot be identified in the secondary analysis unit 52. repeat.

  The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is such that the secondary analysis unit 52 cannot identify the cause of the failure as a result of repeating the processing procedure of S204 to S208 while new additional information is present ( When S206 is NO: when there is no new passage information), as a provisional failure response, the failure response requesting unit 45 terminates the OS of the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 and starts it again ( (OS restart) A failure handling command is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 (S211). As a result, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes the fault handling command transmitted from the fault handling request unit 45 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus 200.

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment can only deal with faults that cannot be dealt with by the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 installed in the user environment by the processing procedure shown in FIG. A subsequent analysis is performed, and based on the result of the secondary analysis, a procedure for instructing the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 set in the user environment to deal with the fault is realized. In addition, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment stores various information such as primary analysis and secondary analysis, and operation information of the electronic device 500 in a storage device, and the failure is based on the stored various information. The processing procedure of analysis / fault response and operation service is realized.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment realizes the fault analysis function and the fault handling function (A) by the following processing procedure. ing.

(Procedure A-1) Failure Detection and Primary Analysis Information Acquisition The failure detection means 21 detects a failure, and the analysis information acquisition means 22 uses the analysis procedure information, which is information relating to the analysis procedure of the primary analysis, to the electronic device 500. And / or primary analysis information that is information for identifying the cause of the failure is acquired from the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

(Procedure A-2) Performing primary analysis Based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition means 22 and the fault identification information that is information for specifying the cause of the fault, the primary analysis means 23 performs a primary analysis. The primary analysis unit 23 determines whether or not the failure analysis information is included in the primary analysis information, and specifies the cause of the failure (for example, a character string “ZN” indicating the zombie state of the process in the process log). For example).

(Procedure A-3-1) Failure handling When the cause of the failure can be identified as a result of failure analysis by the primary analysis unit 23, the failure handling unit 24 performs failure handling for the identified failure. The failure handling means 24 executes a failure handling command for solving the specified cause of the failure (for example, forcibly terminates the process that was in the zombie state and restarts it (restart the process)).

(Procedure A-3-2) Secondary analysis request Used when performing failure analysis by the primary analysis means 23 when the cause of the failure could not be identified as a result of failure analysis by the primary analysis means 23 The primary analysis information, the analysis history information of the primary analysis performed by the primary analysis means 23, and the device operation information acquisition means 31, the electronic device 500 makes an alternative communication protocol (the communication protocol with the highest priority among the available communication protocols). .) Obtained from the electronic device 500 by the operation information (for example, a billing program) obtained by using the second analysis information acquisition means 33 and the secondary analysis information acquisition means 33. Secondary analysis requesting means 32 receives secondary analysis information for performing failure analysis (secondary analysis) more advanced than analysis (to analyze the cause of failure in secondary analysis). From this, it transmits to the remote diagnosis / failure analysis instruction apparatus 200.

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs a primary analysis on a fault that has occurred by (Procedure A-1) to (Procedure A-3-2), and creates a user environment. Remote diagnosis / failure response installed at the management center only when the cause of the failure cannot be identified as a result of the failure analysis for the failure that can be handled by the installed remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100 and the primary analysis. A secondary analysis can be requested from the pointing device 200. In addition, the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs alternative communication so that the operation service is not affected even if a failure occurs, and operation information such as a billing counter is obtained by another communication protocol. It can be acquired from the electronic device 500.

  Further, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment realizes the failure analysis function and the failure handling function (B) by the following processing procedure. .

(Procedure B-1) Information acquisition and information storage Various information transmitted by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 (for example, primary analysis information, primary analysis history, secondary analysis use) Information, operation information, etc.) is acquired and stored in the storage means 51. The analysis procedure update unit 42 changes the primary analysis procedure information based on the primary analysis information stored in the storage unit 51 and the analysis history of the primary analysis, and the analysis procedure update request unit 41 changes the primary analysis procedure information. The primary analysis procedure information (latest primary analysis procedure information) is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100.

(Procedure B-2) Performing secondary analysis Based on the secondary analysis information transmitted by the secondary analysis requesting means 32 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100, the secondary analysis means 52 performs more detailed analysis than the primary analysis. Perform secondary analysis, which is failure analysis. As a result of failure analysis based on the secondary analysis information by the secondary analysis means 52, if the cause of the failure cannot be identified, the additional information acquisition request means 43 adds necessary for identifying the cause of the failure. An information acquisition command for acquiring information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100. As a result, the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 acquires additional information from the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 according to the request from the additional information acquisition request unit 43, and the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus 200. Send to. The transmitted additional information is received by the additional information receiving unit 44, and the secondary analysis unit 52 performs the failure analysis again based on the received additional information to identify the cause of the failure.

(Procedure B-3-1) Failure response instruction As a result of failure analysis by the secondary analysis means 52, if the cause of the failure can be identified, a failure response request is made to perform failure response for the identified failure. The means 45 transmits a failure handling command to the remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus 100 having the failure handling means 24. As a result, the fault handling unit 24 included in the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes a fault handling command for solving the cause of the identified fault.

(Procedure B-3-2) Temporary failure handling As a result of failure analysis performed by the secondary analysis means 23, if the cause of the failure cannot be identified, the failure can be dealt with even if the failure cannot be identified. The failure response request unit 45 transmits a failure response command to the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100 having the failure response unit 24. As a result, the fault handling means 24 of the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus 100 executes a fault handling command for solving a fault that could not be identified (for example, the OS of the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnostic / fault handling apparatus 100). Quit once and restart it (OS restart etc.).

  As described above, the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment is the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 installed in the user environment by (Procedure B-1) to (Procedure B-3-2). The secondary analysis is performed only for the failure that cannot be dealt with, and based on the result of the secondary analysis, the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100 set in the user environment can be instructed to deal with the failure. In addition, the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device 200 according to the present embodiment stores various information such as primary analysis and secondary analysis, and operation information of the electronic device 500 in a storage device, and the failure is based on the stored various information. Analysis / fault response and operation services can be performed.

  Therefore, the remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to the present embodiment can load-balance fault analysis / fault handling processing in the remote diagnosis / fault handling system and perform fault handling according to the fault level.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the first embodiment, the failure analysis function and the failure included in the remote diagnosis / fault response device 100 and the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The corresponding function can be realized by executing, on a computer, a program obtained by coding each processing procedure described in the first embodiment in a programming language suitable for the operating environment (platform). Therefore, the program (remote diagnosis / fault handling program) for executing the fault analysis function and the fault handling function according to the first embodiment of the present invention can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

  The “communication protocol HTTPS communication failure” described in the first embodiment is an example of a failure that occurs between the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure handling device 100. Therefore, the present invention is applicable not only to communication failures but also to all failures related to software (failures that can be solved by executing failure handling commands) such as failures of applications that operate on the electronic device 500 and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device 100. be able to.

  The “information acquisition command” and “failure response command” described in the first embodiment are UNIX (registered trademark) that performs information acquisition and failure response of the electronic device 500 and the remote diagnosis / failure response device 100. It is an example of a system command. Therefore, any command that can be executed on the OS installed in each device may be used.

  Finally, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown here, such as combinations of other elements with the shapes listed in the above embodiments. With respect to these points, the present invention can be changed within a range that does not detract from the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus and a remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional remote diagnosis and failure response system. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a remote diagnosis / fault handling system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the means which comprises the main functions of the remote diagnosis / failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface which sets the information regarding the primary analysis which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the information regarding a primary analysis in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface which sets the information regarding the electronic device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the information regarding the electronic device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (fault detection) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and fault response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (analysis information acquisition) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (primary analysis) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (secondary analysis request | requirement) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (secondary analysis) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (additional information acquisition) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example (fault response) of the operation | movement procedure of the remote diagnosis and failure response system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the specific process sequence in the remote diagnosis and failure response apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the specific process sequence in the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction | indication apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Control unit (CPU)
12 Main memory (ROM, RAM)
13 Auxiliary memory (HD)
14 Network I / F
15 External storage device I / F
16 External device I / F
17 Output device I / F
18 Input device I / F
21 Failure detection means 22 Analysis information acquisition means 23 Primary analysis means 24 Failure handling means 31 Equipment operation information acquisition means 32 Secondary analysis request means 33 Secondary analysis information acquisition means 41 Analysis procedure update request means 42 Analysis procedure change means 43 Addition Information acquisition request means 44 Additional information reception means 45 Fault response request means 51 Storage means 52 Secondary analysis means 90 Network 100 Remote diagnosis / failure response apparatus 200 Remote diagnosis / failure response instruction apparatus 300 Administrator terminal (information processing apparatus)
400n User terminal (information processing device)
500 Electronic device (for example, an image forming apparatus having a communication function)
600 Firewall

Claims (25)

An electronic device and a remote diagnosis / fault response device for analyzing the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the fault acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device, and handling the fault Remote diagnosis / failure response that analyzes secondary analysis information that is information for analyzing the cause of the failure transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure handling device and instructs the remote diagnosis / failure handling device to handle the failure A remote diagnosis / failure response system connected to a pointing device via a network,
The remote diagnosis / fault response device is:
When the primary analysis of the failure is performed based on the primary analysis information and the cause of the failure cannot be identified,
The secondary analysis information is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device, and has a secondary analysis requesting means for requesting a secondary analysis of the failure,
The remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device is:
Remote diagnosis / failure characterized by comprising failure response requesting means for performing a secondary analysis of a failure based on the secondary analysis information and requesting the remote diagnosis / failure response device to handle the failure based on the analysis result Compatible system. The remote diagnosis / fault response device is:
Fault detection means for detecting faults occurring in the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device;
Analysis information obtaining means for obtaining the primary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device;
The analysis information acquisition means includes
When a failure is detected by the failure detection means,
The remote diagnosis / failure handling according to claim 1, wherein the primary analysis information is acquired based on primary analysis procedure information that is information related to an analysis procedure for analyzing a cause of the failure in the primary analysis. system. The remote diagnosis / fault response device is:
Primary analysis means for analyzing the cause of the failure based on the information for primary analysis acquired by the analysis information acquisition means,
The primary analysis means includes
In accordance with the primary analysis procedure information, it is determined whether or not a predetermined character string and / or numerical value of failure identification information that is information for identifying the cause of the failure in the primary analysis is included in the primary analysis information. When the predetermined character string and / or numerical value is included,
The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cause of the failure is specified based on the predetermined character string and / or numerical value included therein. The remote diagnosis / fault response device is:
Device operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information, which is information indicating an operation status of the electronic device, from the electronic device;
The device operation information acquisition means includes
In the communication protocol used when acquiring the operation information, when a communication failure occurs and the operation information cannot be acquired from the electronic device,
Use of device information, which is information about the electronic device, indicating a priority order for determining a communication protocol to be used when the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus perform data communication via the network 4. The operation information is acquired from the electronic device using a communication protocol having the highest priority other than the communication protocol in which the communication failure has occurred, based on the priority information. The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to any one of the above. The remote diagnosis / fault response device is:
The secondary analysis information, which is information for identifying the cause of the failure in the secondary analysis performed by the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device, is acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device. It has secondary analysis information acquisition means,
The secondary analysis request means is
The primary analysis information used when the failure analysis is performed by the primary analysis unit, the failure analysis history information recorded when the failure analysis is performed by the primary analysis unit, and the device operation information acquisition unit. Transmitting the operational information and the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary analysis information acquisition means from the remote diagnosis / fault response device to the remote diagnosis / fault response instruction device, The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein analysis is requested. The remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device is:
Secondary analysis means for performing secondary analysis based on the secondary analysis information transmitted by the secondary analysis request means from the remote diagnosis / fault handling device;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the secondary analysis means,
Additional information acquisition command for acquiring additional information for analyzing the cause of the failure from the electronic device by the secondary analysis means to the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and requesting acquisition of the additional information Acquisition request means;
The remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus includes an additional information receiving unit that executes the additional information acquisition command transmitted by the additional information acquisition request unit and receives the additional information acquired from the electronic device. The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The failure handling request means is
When the cause of the failure is specified by the secondary analysis means,
A failure response command for performing a failure response to the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure response device in which a failure has occurred is transmitted from the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device to the remote diagnosis / failure response device. The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a response is requested. The failure handling request means is
When the cause of the failure is not specified by the secondary analysis means,
The operating system of the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device is terminated, and a fault response command to be started again is transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault analysis instruction device to the remote diagnosis / fault analysis device, thereby handling the fault. The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to claim 1, wherein the remote diagnosis / failure handling system is requested. The remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device is:
The secondary analysis requesting means transmits the secondary analysis information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault response device and the secondary analysis information transmitted in the past, and the primary analysis in the remote diagnosis / fault response device. Storage means for storing the primary analysis procedure information used when a failure analysis is performed by the means;
Based on at least one or more secondary analysis information transmitted in the past stored in the storage means, the analysis procedure of the primary analysis procedure information stored in the storage means, An analysis procedure changing means for changing to an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of a failure that may occur in the future;
The latest primary analysis procedure information changed by the analysis procedure changing means and the analysis program newly changed according to the change of the analysis procedure and the newly required analysis program are transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling device, and the existing primary analysis procedure The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to claim 1, further comprising an analysis procedure update request unit that requests an update of information. The remote diagnosis / fault response device is:
A failure handling means for executing the received failure handling command and handling the failure with respect to the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device;
The failure handling means is
When an instruction as to whether or not to permit execution of the failure handling command is accepted, and the received instruction is to allow execution of the failure handling command,
The remote diagnosis / failure handling system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the failure handling command is executed. Remote diagnosis that analyzes the secondary analysis information, which is information for identifying the cause of the failure transmitted from the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault response device, and instructs the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the fault -Analyzing information for primary analysis, which is information for analyzing the cause of a failure acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device connected to the failure handling instruction device via a network; A remote diagnosis / failure response device that handles
Analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the primary analysis information;
Primary analysis means for performing a primary analysis of a failure based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition means;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis means,
Secondary analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the secondary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis means,
The secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary information acquisition means is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device, and has a secondary analysis requesting means for requesting secondary analysis of the fault, Remote diagnosis / failure response device. A failure detection means for detecting a failure occurring in the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device;
The analysis information acquisition means includes
When a failure is detected by the failure detection means,
12. The remote diagnosis / failure according to claim 11, wherein the primary analysis information is acquired based on primary analysis procedure information that is information relating to an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of the failure by the primary analysis means. Compatible device. The primary analysis means includes
In accordance with the primary analysis procedure information, it is determined whether or not a predetermined character string and / or numerical value of failure specifying information that is information for specifying the cause of the failure is included in the primary analysis information, and the predetermined analysis If the string and / or numeric value of
13. The remote diagnosis / failure handling device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the cause of the failure is specified based on the predetermined character string and / or numerical value included therein. Device operation information acquisition means for acquiring operation information, which is information indicating an operation status of the electronic device, from the electronic device;
The device operation information acquisition means includes
In the communication protocol used when acquiring the operation information, when a communication failure occurs and the operation information cannot be acquired from the electronic device,
Use of device information, which is information about the electronic device, indicating a priority order for determining a communication protocol to be used when the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault handling device perform data communication via the network 14. The operation information is acquired from the electronic device using a communication protocol having the highest priority other than the communication protocol in which the communication failure has occurred based on priority information. The remote diagnosis / fault response device according to any one of the above. The secondary analysis request means is
Obtained by the primary analysis information used when the failure was analyzed by the primary analysis means, failure analysis history information recorded when the failure was analyzed by the primary analysis means, and the device operation information acquisition means The failure that the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device performs is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device, and the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary analysis information acquisition means The remote diagnosis / failure handling apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the secondary analysis is requested. Execute a failure response command for performing a failure response on the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure response device in which a failure has occurred, and handle the failure on the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure response device. Have a failure handling means to do,
The failure handling means is
When an instruction as to whether or not to permit execution of the failure handling command is accepted, and the received instruction is to allow execution of the failure handling command,
16. The remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the fault handling command is executed. An electronic device and a remote diagnosis / failure handling device that analyzes the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and handles the failure Analyzes secondary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of a failure transmitted by the remote diagnosis / fault response device connected via a network, and instructs the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the failure. Remote diagnosis / failure instruction device,
Secondary analysis means for performing a secondary analysis of a failure based on the information for secondary analysis;
A failure response requesting unit for transmitting a failure response command for performing a failure response to the remote diagnosis / failure response device and requesting a failure response based on a result of the failure analysis by the secondary analysis unit; Remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device. When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the secondary analysis means,
Additional information acquisition command for acquiring additional information for analyzing the cause of the failure from the electronic device by the secondary analysis means to the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and requesting acquisition of the additional information Acquisition request means;
The remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus includes an additional information receiving unit that executes the additional information acquisition command transmitted by the additional information acquisition request unit and receives the additional information acquired from the electronic device. The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device according to claim 17. The failure handling request means is
When the cause of the failure is specified by the secondary analysis means,
A failure response command for performing a failure response to the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure response device in which a failure has occurred is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure response device to request a response to the failure. The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device according to claim 17 or 18. The failure handling request means is
When the cause of the failure is not specified by the secondary analysis means,
An operating system of the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device is terminated, and a fault response command to be started again is transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault analysis device to request a response to the fault. The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device according to any one of claims 17 to 19. The secondary analysis information transmitted from the remote diagnosis / fault response device and the secondary analysis information transmitted in the past, and analysis for analyzing the cause of the fault in the primary analysis in the remote diagnosis / fault response device Storage means for storing primary analysis procedure information which is information about the procedure;
Based on at least one or more secondary analysis information transmitted in the past stored in the storage means, the analysis procedure of the primary analysis procedure information stored in the storage means, An analysis procedure changing means for changing to an analysis procedure for analyzing the cause of a failure that may occur in the future;
The latest primary analysis procedure information changed by the analysis procedure changing means and the analysis program newly changed according to the change of the analysis procedure and the newly required analysis program are transmitted to the remote diagnosis / fault handling device, and the existing primary analysis procedure 21. The remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising an analysis procedure update request means for requesting update of information. Remote diagnosis that analyzes the secondary analysis information, which is information for identifying the cause of the failure transmitted from the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault response device, and instructs the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the fault -Analyzing the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device connected to the failure handling instruction device via the network, A remote diagnosis / fault handling method in a remote diagnosis / fault handling device for handling,
An analysis information acquisition procedure for acquiring the primary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault handling device;
A primary analysis procedure for performing a primary analysis of a failure based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition procedure;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis procedure,
Secondary analysis information acquisition procedure for acquiring the secondary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis procedure,
A secondary analysis request procedure for transmitting the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary information acquisition procedure to the remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device and requesting a secondary analysis of the fault, Remote diagnosis and troubleshooting method. An electronic device and a remote diagnosis / failure handling device that analyzes the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and handles the failure Analyzes secondary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of a failure transmitted by the remote diagnosis / fault response device connected via a network, and instructs the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the failure. A remote diagnosis / fault handling method for a remote diagnosis / fault handling instruction device,
A secondary analysis procedure for performing a secondary analysis of a failure based on the secondary analysis information;
A failure response request procedure for transmitting a failure response command for performing a failure response to the remote diagnosis / failure response device and requesting a failure response based on a result of the failure analysis by the secondary analysis procedure, Remote diagnosis and troubleshooting method. Remote diagnosis that analyzes the secondary analysis information, which is information for identifying the cause of the failure transmitted from the electronic device and the remote diagnosis / fault response device, and instructs the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the fault -Analyzing the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device connected to the failure handling instruction device via the network, A remote diagnosis / failure response program for a remote diagnosis / failure response device,
Computer
Analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the primary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device;
Primary analysis means for performing a primary analysis of a failure based on the primary analysis information acquired by the analysis information acquisition means;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis means,
Secondary analysis information acquisition means for acquiring the secondary analysis information from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / fault response device;
When the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the primary analysis means,
Remote diagnosis / failure causing the secondary analysis information acquired by the secondary information acquisition means to be transmitted to the remote diagnosis / failure handling instruction device and functioning as secondary analysis requesting means for requesting secondary analysis of the failure Supported programs. An electronic device and a remote diagnosis / failure handling device that analyzes the primary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of the failure acquired from the electronic device and / or the remote diagnosis / failure handling device, and handles the failure Analyzes secondary analysis information, which is information for analyzing the cause of a failure transmitted by the remote diagnosis / fault response device connected via a network, and instructs the remote diagnosis / fault response device to handle the failure. A remote diagnosis / failure response program for a remote diagnosis / failure response instruction device,
Computer
Secondary analysis means for performing a secondary analysis of a failure based on the information for secondary analysis;
Remote diagnosis / fault based on the result of fault analysis by the secondary analysis means, sending a fault handling command for handling a fault to the remote diagnosis / fault handling apparatus and functioning as a fault handling request means for requesting fault handling Supported programs.

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