JPH08181711A - Method for indicating traffic amount - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To indicate a traffic amount between network components in an understandable way by managing simultaneously connection indication of network components and of traffic amount. CONSTITUTION: A means 15 managing configuration of network components conduct processing to build up the configuration of current network components based on data of received MIB information and generates a connection map of the network. Prior to displaying the connection map on a monitor screen of a computer working on the Windows (trade mark), the connection map is once given to a means 18 revising the shape or attribute of lines among the network components as data. Furthermore, a means 17 collecting traffic data extracts only data of required MIB information and processes the traffic amount as data. Then the means 18 revising the shape or attribute of lines among the network components processes data of the connection map of the network and data of the traffic amount. Moreover, a connection display means 16 displays the data on the monitor screen working on the Windows as the configuration map.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a configuration management and a performance management which are functions of a management station of a network for managing a network management agent connected to a LAN, and particularly to visually display a traffic volume. It is about how to display intelligibly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a network management station manages the configuration of network elements such as hosts, hubs, bridges, routers, etc., it sometimes displays a connection between network elements. This is for visually displaying information such as which segment each network element belongs to and which network it belongs to. For example, HP's Open View (trademark) or Sun.
Sun Systems Ma by Micro Systems
It has already been implemented in many products, such as nager ™. On the other hand, in the display of the traffic volume that belongs to the performance management, the management station of the network indicates that the management information base (MIB: M) of the specific network management agent.
management Information Bas
From e), the data necessary for calculating the traffic volume on the segment to which the network management agent belongs is extracted and displayed as a graph on the network management agent. Alternatively, depending on the type of management information base of the network management agent, the traffic amount itself is extracted and displayed in a graph. This includes HP's Open View (TM) and Net.
Sniffer ™ from work General
It has already been realized in products such as network analyzers. Further, as a technique related to the display of the traffic amount in this kind of network management, which is disclosed in the patent publication, there is a LAN statistical data collecting system and method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-75620. However, in the conventional example, when the network administrator wants to know the traffic volume of any connection in the configuration of the network element, the network element configuration screen and the graph screen that displays the traffic volume exist separately. It was necessary to judge the composition of elements and the traffic volume by comparing them separately.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a network element which is a function of configuration management which is conventionally divided and managed. (EN) It is possible to provide a method of displaying a traffic amount display between network elements in a visually easy-to-understand manner by simultaneously displaying and managing a connection line display and a traffic amount display which is a performance management function.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the traffic volume display method of the present invention comprises:
Means for managing a network management agent connected to the LAN, means for managing the configuration of network elements such as hosts, hubs, bridges, routers, etc. on a management station of the network; A means for collecting traffic data of the segment to which the network management agent is connected by monitoring and controlling the management agent, and a display of the network element connection diagram, in which the display of the traffic volume between the network elements is displayed in a visually easy-to-understand manner. In order to do so, it comprises a means for changing the shape or attribute of the line between the network elements in the connection diagram of the network elements according to the traffic data. Specifically, the shape of the line between each network element in the connection diagram of network elements is displayed as a curve, and the means for changing the curvature according to the increase or decrease of the traffic volume, or between each network element in the connection diagram of network elements The line shape is displayed as a zigzag line, and a means for changing the degree of zigzag according to the increase or decrease of traffic volume, or a numerical value indicating the traffic volume is displayed in the middle of the line between network elements in the network element connection diagram. Means or the like can be used. Also, according to the limit value of the traffic volume, a means for changing the color of the connection between the network elements in the connection diagram of the network elements, a means for displaying the connection by a dotted line, and a display by changing the thickness or the length of the connection It is preferable to use the means together.

[0005]

According to the inventions of claims 1 to 4, due to changes in the curvature of the curve connecting the network elements in the connection diagram of the network elements, changes in the zigzag degree of the zigzag lines, changes in the numerical display between the lines, etc. , The amount of traffic between each network element is displayed in a visually easy-to-understand manner. According to the invention of claims 5 to 8, while displaying the traffic volume between the network elements, when the traffic volume reaches the limit value, the color of the connection is changed or the connection is dotted. The display is performed, the thickness of the connection is changed, or the length of the connection is changed.

[0006]

FIG. 1 shows the system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in managing the configuration of network elements such as a host, a hub, a bridge, and a router, a network management station is constructed as software that operates on an operating system of MS-Windows (trademark) of Microsoft Corporation. However, the hardware used a personal computer. The configuration of the displayed network elements is displayed as icons on the MS-Windows (TM) window. As the communication means, SNMP operating on UDP / IP is used.

In the system configuration of FIG. 1, LAN segments 7 and 8 are provided, a network management station 1 and network management agents 2 and 3 are connected to the segment 7, and a network management agent 4 and a network management agent 4 are provided on the segment 8. 5 is connected, and yet another network 9 is connected. Between segments 7 and 8,
The bridge 6 is connected. The management station 1 of the network periodically or arbitrarily accesses the network management agents 2, 3, 4, 5 or the bridge 6 to be managed by SNMP Protocol to access the MIB.
Collect information. As shown in FIG. 1, the network management station has a function of accessing a plurality of network management agents and collecting MIB information. This system configuration shows the relationship between the network management agent and the network management station, and the LAN configuration and the number of network management agents are arbitrary.

FIG. 2 shows the software configuration of the network management station. The main body 11 of the management station of the network has means for connecting to the LAN by the application programming interface 12 of SNMP, and the window 11 by the application programming interface 13 of Windows (trademark).
The ows (trademark) screen has means for displaying the configuration of network elements and their connection display. The management station communication means 14 collects MIB information from the application programming interface 12 of SNMP, and passes the MIB information as data to the means 15 for managing the configuration of the network element. Also, the management station communication means 1
4 is also MIB for the means 17 for collecting traffic data
Pass information as data. The means 15 for managing the configuration of the network element processes the received MIB information data to construct the current configuration of the network element and creates a network connection map. Before the created connection map is displayed on the screen of Windows (trademark), it is once passed as data to the means 18 for changing the shape or attribute of the line between the network elements. Further, the means 17 for collecting traffic data extracts the traffic amount itself or only the MIB information data necessary for calculating the traffic amount from the received MIB information data, processes the traffic amount as data, and It is passed as data to the means 18 for changing the shape or attribute of the line. The means 18 for changing the shape or attribute of the line between the network elements processes the data of the network connection map and the data of the traffic volume. The means 18 for changing the shape or the attribute between the network elements changes the shape or the attribute of the connection map according to the traffic volume, and the shape or the attribute of the line set in advance (for example,
There is a setting such as changing the curvature according to the traffic amount or changing the degree of the zigzag line), and as a data to the means 16 for displaying the connection map of the network element in which the traffic amount is displayed, as data. hand over. In the means 16 for displaying the connection, W
Display as a configuration map on the screen on Windows (trademark).

In this management station, the shape or attribute of the line can be set. FIG. 3 shows a processing flow of the means 18 for changing the shape or attribute of a line between network elements. The processing of FIG. 3 is selectively executed by the means 18 for changing the shape or attribute of the line between the network elements of FIG. Here, of the line shape or attribute settings, the line shape is a curve, and the setting that changes the curvature according to the increase or decrease in traffic volume and is displayed is the zigzag line. Setting to change the degree of the zigzag line and display the value of the attribute of the line as a numerical value and display the traffic volume as a numerical value on the connection line.
Setting to change and display the color of the connection according to the limit value of the traffic volume With any of the above settings,
Setting to display the connection line as a dotted line according to the limit value of traffic volume In the state where either of the above is set,
Setting to change and display the thickness of the wiring according to the limit value of the traffic volume In the state where any of the above is set,
The setting is made to change the length of the connection and display it according to the limit value of the traffic volume. In the above ,,,, the limit value is separately set by the setting of the management station.

The process flow of FIG. 3 starts at the start 20 of the flowchart and ends at the end 27. The setting module 21 determines which of the above settings, and is set, and calls the corresponding calling module 22. The calling module 22 is prepared for each of the above, and is selected according to the value set by the setting module 21. The calling module 22 called as the corresponding process calculates a parameter for determining the shape or the attribute for each setting from the value of the given traffic amount. The calling module 22 further calls the calling module 23 prepared for changing the connection map by substituting the calculated parameters. In the calling module 23, the parameters are
Change the connection map of either, or. At the decision 24, it is decided which of the settings has been made. If no settings have been made, end 27
Ends the process. If any of the settings ,, is set, the judgment 25 is called.
In judgment 25, the limit value is compared with the set limit value, and if the limit value is not reached, the process ends in end 27. If the limit value has been reached, the process 26 relating to any setting of ,,, is performed, and then the process ends at end 27.

FIG. 4 shows a screen display on Windows (trademark) in the case where only the setting of displaying the shape of the line by changing the curvature according to the increase or decrease of the traffic amount is set. In the window W1, the connections C11 to C18, and the network elements A11 to A19, the connections C11 and C12 have a large amount of traffic on the connection, so that the curvature is large and the display of FIG. Since the traffic volume is small for other connections, the display is almost straight. In this example, the larger the curvature, the larger the traffic volume.

FIG. 5 shows a screen display on Windows (trademark) in the case where only the setting of displaying the shape of the line with the degree of the zigzag line according to the increase or decrease of the traffic volume is made. In the window W2, the connections C21 to C26, and the network elements A21 to A27, the connections C21 and C22
Since the amount of traffic in the connection is large, the degree of the zigzag line is large, and the display is as shown in FIG. Since the traffic volume is small for other connections, the display is almost straight. In this example, the larger the degree of the zigzag line, the larger the traffic volume.

FIG. 6 is a window in the case where the setting of FIG. 5 is made and the setting is made such that the thickness of the connection is changed and displayed according to the limit value of the traffic amount.
The screen display on s (trademark) is shown. In the window W3, the connection lines C31 to C36, and the network elements A31 to A36, the connection lines C31 and C32 have a large amount of traffic due to the connection, and thus the zigzag line degree is large, and the display is as shown in FIG. . Furthermore, connection C3
The line 1 is displayed thick. This indicates that the traffic volume has reached the limit value and is set, so that the thick line is displayed.

FIG. 7 is a window in the case where the setting of FIG. 4 is made and the setting is made such that the connection length is changed and displayed according to the limit value of the traffic amount.
The screen display on s (trademark) is shown. In the window W4, the connections C41 to C48, and the network elements A41 to A49, the connections C41 and C42 have a large amount of traffic due to the large amount of traffic in the connection, as shown in FIG. Further, the length of the connection C41 is displayed long. This indicates that the traffic amount has reached the limit value and has been set, so that the length of the connection is displayed long.

FIG. 8 shows W when the line attribute is set only to display the traffic volume as a numerical value on the connection.
A screen display on Windows (trademark) is shown. Window W5, connections C51, C52, network element A51
At A53, in the connections C51 and C52, the traffic volume on the connection is displayed as a numerical value (percentage display) on the connection. In this example, the larger the number, the larger the traffic volume.

In the above setting, when the limit value is reached as in FIGS. 6 and 7, the palette specified separately by the management station is referred to and the connection color is changed to the palette color. change. In the setting in the above case, when the limit value is reached, as in FIGS. 6 and 7, the type of dotted line designated separately by the management station is referred to and the connection is changed to that dotted line.

The screen displays of FIGS. 4 to 8 are examples, and all the patterns shown by the above settings 1 to 8 are possible in this embodiment. Further, by modifying the embodiment, it is possible to easily realize the change of the line shape and the change of the line attribute which are considered other than the above. In addition, although agent management is performed by SNMP in the embodiment, it can be realized by a management station using CMIP or other means.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the display of the connection between the network elements, which is the function of the configuration management, which is conventionally divided and managed, and the display of the traffic amount, which is the function of the performance management, are performed. Simultaneous management has the effect of displaying the display of the traffic volume between each network element in a visually easy-to-understand manner.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of a management station in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of processing for changing the shape or attribute of a line according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen display according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a screen display according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing still another example of a screen display according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of screen display according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing still another example of screen display according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 management station 2 network management agent 3 network management agent 4 network management agent 5 network management agent 6 bridge 7 LAN segment 8 LAN segment 9 another network

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A means for managing the configuration of a network element such as a host, a hub, a bridge or a router on a management station of a network for managing a network management agent connected to a LAN, and a connection display of the configuration of the network element. Means for collecting traffic data of the segment to which the network management agent is connected by monitoring and controlling the network management agent, and visualizing the display of the traffic volume between each network element in the connection diagram display of the network element. A method for displaying the amount of traffic, comprising means for changing the shape or the attribute of the line between the network elements in the connection diagram of the network elements in order to make it easier to understand. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein means for changing a shape or an attribute of a line between the network elements in the connection diagram of the network element according to traffic data includes a line between the network elements in the connection diagram of the network element. A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized by using a shape as a curve and using a means for changing the curvature of this curve according to the increase or decrease of the traffic volume. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein means for changing a shape or an attribute of a line between network elements in a network element connection diagram according to traffic data includes: A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized in that a zigzag line is used as a shape, and a means for changing the zigzag degree of the zigzag line according to an increase or decrease in traffic volume is used. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein means for changing a shape or an attribute of a line between network elements in a network element connection diagram according to traffic data includes: A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized in that an attribute is displayed as a numeric value of the traffic volume, and a means for changing and displaying the numerical value of the traffic volume according to the increase or decrease of the traffic volume is used between lines. 5. The traffic according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4, as means for changing the shape or attribute of a line between network elements in a network element connection diagram according to traffic data. A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized by using a means for changing the color of the connection between network elements in the connection diagram of the network elements according to the limit value of the volume. 6. The traffic according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4, as means for changing a shape or an attribute of a line between network elements in a network element connection diagram according to traffic data. A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized by using means for changing the connection between network elements in a connection diagram of network elements to a dotted line according to a limit value of the volume. 7. The traffic according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4, as means for changing a shape or an attribute of a line between network elements in a network element connection diagram according to traffic data. A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized by using a means for changing the thickness of a connection between network elements in a connection diagram of network elements according to a limit value of the volume. 8. The traffic according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4, as means for changing the shape or attribute of a line between network elements in a network element connection diagram according to traffic data. A method for displaying traffic volume, characterized by using a means for changing the length of a connection between network elements in a connection diagram of network elements according to a limit value of the volume.