Patent Application
20090073973
This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0093189, filed on Sep. 13, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network device, and more particularly, to a router having a black box function capable of storing a data block of a specific node or node group in a network, and a network system including the router.
This work was supported by the IT R&D program of Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC)/Institute for Information Technology Advancement (IITA) [2006-S-061-02, R&D on router technology for IPv6-based QoS services and host mobility].
Proliferation of the Internet and Internet Protocol (IP) has led to the present situation in which not only personal computers (PCs) but various electronic devices are capable of connecting to the Internet, and there is increasing demand for the ability to collect information using the Internet in conjunction with remotely controllable small embedded devices, sensors and so on. Due to recent developments in wireless technology, environments supporting the provision of Internet service are being constructed in places where such construction was previously not possible. However, the Internet is based on wired technology and thus cannot sufficiently satisfy characteristics and requirements of recently produced, small-scale, low-power devices such as wireless sensor nodes.
Examples of such devices are sensor nodes distributed in regions where the natural environment is very dangerous, data collection devices for short-lasting dangerous situations such as typhoons or hurricanes, data collection devices for monitoring and collecting data in regions that are dangerous due to a military threat or similar reasons. A sensor node or data collection node may be destroyed or rendered unable to function at any time, and thus information collected from the node may be lost. In such a case, retransfer of the lost data is almost impossible due to insufficient processing power, insufficient resources, unstable power supply, etc., of a small-scale node. Even if the lost data could be retransferred, the retransfer would not be reliable because the node could malfunction at any time when located in a dangerous region.
A node gateway relaying Internet access may be used instead of one or several nodes. However, danger around a node affects the gateway as well as the node, and thus the node gateway cannot be a fundamental solution.
Meanwhile, the increasing diversity of nodes accessing the Internet requires changes in Internet equipment and environments. Since a final message may be lost due to Internet congestion or instability as mentioned above, an input router physically and logically adjacent to the node needs to temporarily or permanently store data of the node. Due to the diversity of hosts accessing the Internet, real-time relay, reliable transfer, a high band, etc., are required, and it is also required that data be transferred to its destination regardless of a little delay.
Developments in semiconductor technology have led to the development of various recording media, remarkable increase in the capacity of the recording media, and improvement in processing power with respect to cost and power consumption. Thus, an Internet router can have many functions in addition to a conventional routing function. It may have a function of processing and storing data of a small-scale node, such as a sensor node, and allowing a server to load the stored data when data is lost or the node is out of order. In general, a network of small-scale sensors is connected to the Internet through a gateway and an Internet input router, controlled by a remote server, and receives instructions to collect data. When a method and apparatus capable of preventing loss of sensor data in steps are applied to this environment, it is possible to prevent danger in each step from affecting a next step and to reliably transfer data.
Currently, the main functions of a router are to relay packets to their destinations, exchange and share route information between routers, prevent attacks of illegal or malicious packets, authenticate users and grant the right to use network resources, and so on. Thus far, a router has generally been thought of as a point through which data passes rather than stays at. In a dangerous environment, a node group constituting a small scale wireless network or a node operating by itself may transfer data that is almost impossible to retransfer to a server. In this case, it is possible to easily establish a reliable network and efficiently use network resources when a router positioned at the entrance of the Internet has a function of storing and transferring the data.
The present invention provides a router having a black box function capable of supporting transfer of an aperiodic or final message of a specific node or node group that might be lost due to an unstable network to a final server or host without any accident, and a network system including the router.
The present invention further provides a router capable of selecting data required to be stored in a black box from node data and storing the selected data in the black box, and a network system including the router.
The present invention further provides a router capable of backing up important data, or an aperiodic or final message of a specific node or node group that might be lost due to an unstable network to a third place or multiple times to minimize loss of important data, and a network system including the router.
The present invention further provides a router having a black box function capable of selecting data satisfying a condition from data transferred from a specific node or node group and storing only the selected data.
Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The present invention discloses a router having a black box function, including: a black box memory for storing node data; at least one line interface card for preprocessing and transferring a packet transferred via a wired/wireless transmission medium; and a main processing unit for selectively storing node data transferred from each line interface card in the black box memory, and reading and transferring data requested to be transferred by an external device.
The main processing unit may back up the node data stored in the black box memory to at least one designated router existing in the same network.
Only node data satisfying a configurable condition may be filtered and stored in the black box memory.
The present invention also discloses a router having a black box function, including: a black box memory for storing node data; at least one packet preprocessor for selecting and processing a data packet required to be stored in a black box from node data transferred via a wired/wireless transmission medium; a data storage for storing the node data transferred through the packet preprocessor in the black box memory; a data reader for reading corresponding node data in response to a node data transfer request from an external device; and a data transmitter for processing the node data read by the data reader in the form of a packet and transferring the packet to the external device.
The router may further include a data backup unit for backing up the node data stored in the black box memory to at least one designated router existing in the same network.
The router may further include a data filter for filtering only node data satisfying a configurable condition among the node data transferred through the packet preprocessor, and transferring the node data to the data storage.
The above-described different types of routers select and store node data required to be stored in a black box from the node data transferred from each node, and transfer the stored node data in response to a request of an external device such as a host. Thus, it is possible to transfer an aperiodic or final message of a specific node or node group that might be lost due to an unstable network to a final server or host without any accident.
The present invention also discloses a network system for relaying node data transferred from at least one node group via a wired/wireless transmission medium to a final destination device, including: a black box router for selecting a data packet required to be stored in a black box from the node data transferred via the transmission medium, storing the selected data packet in a black box memory, and reading and transferring data required by the final destination device among the stored data; and an output router for transferring the data relayed or provided through the black box router to the final destination device.
The present invention also discloses a network system for relaying node data transferred from at least one node group via a wired/wireless transmission medium to a final destination device, including: a node for transferring a packet having information of a header including a first destination address and a second destination address; a first router for transferring the packet to a device having the first destination address included in the header of the packet transferred from the node; and a black box router for storing node data of the packet transferred from the first router in a black box memory, and relaying a corresponding node data packet to a device having the second destination address.
Each of the network systems may further include at least one backup device for backing up the node data stored in the black box memory.
The above-described network systems also select and store node data required to be stored in a black box, and transfer the stored node data in response to a request of an external device such as a host. Thus, it is possible to transfer an aperiodic or final message of a specific node or node group that might be lost due to an unstable network to a final server or host without any accident.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the aspects of the invention.
The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is through, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.
Referring to
The structure of node data according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
Meanwhile, the node data portion 201 includes metadata on the node data. The metadata includes an identifier 203 of a group or small group to which a node belongs, an identifier 204 of the node itself, a node state 205, time information 206, a data sequence 207, security information 208, a data error check code 209, number and size information 210 on all of the data, and so on. Other node data is actual node data 212 and data information 211, and the data information 211 includes information on a type, size, etc., of the node data.
Referring again to
The construction of the black box router 107 will be described in further detail with reference to
More specifically, the line interface card 301 includes a line connection module 302, a block 303 for processing the physical layer of a packet, a processor 304 for packet separation, authentication, classification, scheduling, etc., and a memory 305 for storing information required for packet processing, and so on. The line interface card 301 recognizes that a packet is a data packet of a node required to be processed in a black box, passes the packet through an authentication process, a basic header management process and a processing process, and then transfers node data to the main processing unit 307 via the relay unit 306. In other words, the line interface card 301 preprocesses a packet transferred via a wired/wireless transmission medium and transfers the preprocessed packet to the main processing unit 307. Alternatively, the line interface card 301 selectively processes a data packet required to be stored in a black box among node data transferred via a wired/wireless transmission media, and transfers the processed data packet to the main processing unit 307. Thus, the line interface card 301 may be referred to as a packet preprocessing unit. In the former case, it is assumed that all node data is stored. The processor 304 of the line interface card 301 may filter and store only node data satisfying a configurable condition in the black box memory 314.
There is a method of recognizing whether a packet is a data packet of a node required to be processed in a black box. According to the method, when a user subscribes to a black box service, user information, i.e., a Media Access Control (MAC) address, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a used protocol, and an entire or partial port address, is transferred to the service provider. Based on the user information, it is possible to distinguish a packet according to the methods below.
There is a method of classifying a packet filtered based on five properties, i.e., source and destination IP addresses, source and destination ports, and protocol, as a service-providing packet, and then finally authenticating the packet as a service-providing packet through additional authentication and cryptanalysis processes. According to another method, a protocol number, i.e., a private protocol, supporting a black box function may be obtained from an IP header and recognized, and then additional authentication and cryptanalysis processes may be performed using a user header to distinguish the corresponding packet.
Meanwhile, the main processing unit 307 selectively storing node data transferred from the line interface card 301 in the black box memory 314 basically includes a data storage 309, a data reader 310 and a data transmitter 311. The data storage 309 stores node data transferred through the line interface card, i.e., packet preprocessor, 301 in the black box memory 314. The data reader 310 reads recent or final data of the corresponding node in response to a node data transfer request from an external device such as a host and a server. The data transmitter 311 processes the node data read by the data reader 310 in the form of a packet and transfers the packet to the external device. Additionally, the black box router 107 may include a data backup unit 312 and a data filter 313. The data backup unit 312 backs up node data stored in the memory 314 to at least one backup device, e.g., a backup router 123, existing in the same network 101. The data filter 313 filters only node data satisfying the configurable condition among node data transferred through the line interface card, i.e., a packet preprocessor, 301 and transfers the filtered node data to the data storage 309.
To filter desired data, a conditional statement may be set by selecting a condition or inputting a conditional value on a previously input menu, i.e., a Graphic User Interface (GUI) or a Command Line Interface (CLI). In addition, there is a method of accessing a router using a telnet and entering a conditional input command and a condition at a router command prompt. Furthermore, there is another method of transferring a control message through a data path of a router from a remote place to the router, and still another method of issuing instructions from a console of a router and loading a file through a management port.
Besides the above-described functions, the main processor 308 of the black box router 107 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention executes a basic application program of the router, performs routing table management, and so on. In addition, the main processor 308 may perform serial or parallel processes, such as packet recognition, packet authentication and checking, packet header processing, data filtering and data processing with respect to node data transferred from the line interface card 301, and store the processed node data in the black box memory 314, which can be implemented by a plurality of non-volatile circular buffers.
In the above descriptions, it is assumed that the router 107 has a medium or large size. On the other hand, when the router 107 has a small size as illustrated in
Thus far, the construction of the router 107 having a black box function has been described in detail. Referring back to
When various packets 415 are input through the line interface card 301, the packets are processed in the physical layer and then passed through the main processor 308 performing serial or parallel processes. Here, the main processor 308 analyzes header information, etc., of the packets to recognize whether the packets are to be stored in the black box memory 314, whether the packets are data of an authenticated node or group, whether a partial header or data of the packets needs to be processed, and performs the corresponding action. The black box memory 314 consists of a plurality of non-volatile circular buffers (or volatile buffers as occasion demands). The packets can be classified and stored in the respective non-volatile circular buffers according to data types, node groups or small groups. Passages 417, 418, 419 and 420 to the several non-volatile circular buffers of a black box exist for the respective non-volatile circular buffers. In other words, the main processor 308 transfers packets 421, 422, 423 and 424 required to be processed in a black box through the non-volatile circular buffer passages 417, 418, 419 and 420 corresponding to node data types and groups. The packets passed through the non-volatile circular buffer passages 417, 418, 419 and 420 are passed through the data filter 313 in front of the non-volatile circular buffer 314 in the form of pure node data 416 except network header information, etc. Since the data filter 313 processes and stores node data in various forms, or filters redundant data, etc., it has a variable structure to turn on or off a part or all of the functions. The node data passed through the data filter 313 is stored in the non-volatile circular buffer 314. A storage position is found using a current position index 407 and then the node data is stored at a position 410 indicated by the current position index 407. An actual address value of the non-volatile circular buffer slot 425 may be an index itself or a result of a simple addressing operation 406. In result, time information 401, a data value 402, other information 403, etc., of a node are contained as the node data in an addressing space indicated by a non-volatile circular buffer index 404. The types, sizes, etc., of the stored data may vary according to node types and data types.
Referring to A 518 of
However, when either of the node 103 and the adjacent gateway 104 does not operate due to malfunction or change in surroundings, node data cannot be transferred to the server 102. This problem can be solved by a black box router according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to B 535 of
Therefore, the present invention solves the fundamental problem of the final aperiodic message of a node or node group collecting important data in a dangerous region being lost due to packet network instability.
The black box router 613 transfers the node data 614 having a second destination header through a connection line 607 physically or logically connected to an output router 608, and the output router 608 transfers data 609 to the destination host 602 through a wired/wireless line 610 connected with the host 602.
The above-described network system also selects node data required to be stored in a black box, stores it in a black box router, and transfers it in response to a request from an external device such as a host, thereby transferring an aperiodic or final message of a specific node or node group that might be lost due to an unstable network to a final server or host without any accident.
The above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be stored in any form of recording media, such as Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, or magneto-optical disk, or in any computer-readable form, such as computer code organized into executable programs. A description of a method of storing an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is well known in the art and will be omitted.
As apparent from the above description, a router according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has a black box memory that may comprise a non-volatile circular buffer, stores a final data block of a specific node or node group or a final data block satisfying a specific condition in the black box memory, and transfers the stored data to an external device requiring it.
The above-described different types of routers select and store node data required to be stored in a black box from node data transferred from respective nodes, and transfer the stored node data at the request of an external device such as a host. Thus, it is possible to transfer an aperiodic or final message of a specific node or node group that might be lost due to an unstable network to a final server or host without any accident. Consequently, the present invention can safely transfer data of each node to a server or host.
In addition, the present invention backs up data stored in a black box to an external device through multiple steps and thus can increase the reliability of a data transfer network system.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2007-0093189 | Sep 2007 | KR | national |
