Patent Publication Number: US-2019191321-A1

Title: Information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, communication apparatus, and communication system

Description:
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-242924, filed on Dec. 19, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     When a failure has occurred in a storage apparatus, such as a data disk or the like, mounted in a communication apparatus of a wireless base station or the like at the time of the activation of the communication apparatus, an operator has sometimes had to go to a local site to replace the storage apparatus. 
     In Patent Document 1, there is presented a remote maintenance apparatus that, upon occurrence of a failure in a storage apparatus of a maintenance target computer, reactivates the maintenance target computer by a remote operation, using a recovery program and recovery information that are stored in another storage apparatus. 
     PATENT DOCUMENT 
     [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 10-011318 
     In the above-described remote maintenance apparatus presented in Patent Document 1, the plurality of storage apparatuses are needed. 
     In the case where the technique presented in Patent Document 1 is applied to a wireless base station, and this wireless base station is subjected to a strong impact due to a disaster or the like, there is a risk that the plurality of storage apparatuses, such as data disks or the like, may be simultaneously damaged and thereby the function of the wireless base station may be brought to a halt. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of the above-described disadvantage, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system that, even when a failure has occurred in a storage apparatus, enable at least a portion of original operation to be automatically resumed. 
     In order to achieve the above-described object, an information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a storage apparatus that is of a mechanical type and is configured to store, in the storage apparatus, a program for allowing the information processing apparatus to operate, and to store first information into the storage apparatus in conjunction with updating of the first information, the first information being information for allowing the information processing apparatus to operate; a memory device of a writable type; and a controller configured to, during normal operation of the storage apparatus, transmit second information including at least a portion of the first information to a data center connected to the information processing apparatus via a communication link, the controller being further configured to, upon detection of a failure of the storage apparatus, bring operation of the storage apparatus to a halt, load the second information and the program that is preliminarily stored in the data center, into the memory device from the data center, and allow the information processing apparatus to operate, based on the program and the second information, which have been loaded into the memory device. 
     In order to achieve the above-described object, an information processing system according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an information processing apparatus and a data center connected to the information processing apparatus via a communication link, the information processing apparatus including a storage apparatus that is of a mechanical type and is configured to store, in the apparatus, a program for allowing the information processing apparatus to operate, and to store first information into the storage apparatus in conjunction with updating of the first information, the first information being information for allowing the information processing apparatus to operate; a memory device of a writable type; and a controller configured to, during normal operation of the storage apparatus, transmit second information including at least a portion of the first information to the data center, which is connected to the information processing apparatus via the communication link, the controller being further configured to, upon detection of a failure of the storage apparatus, bring operation of the storage apparatus to a halt, load the second information and the program that is preliminarily stored in the data center, into the memory device from the data center, and allow the information processing apparatus to operate, based on the program and the second information, which have been loaded into the memory device. 
     In order to achieve the above-described object, an information processing method according to a third aspect of the present invention includes storing, in a storage apparatus of a mechanical type, a program for allowing an information processing apparatus to operate, and storing first information into the storage apparatus in conjunction with updating of the first information, the first information being information for allowing the information processing apparatus to operate. During normal operation of the storage apparatus, second information including at least a portion of the first information is transmitted to a data center connected to the information processing apparatus via a communication link. Upon detection of a failure of the storage apparatus, operation of the storage apparatus is brought to a halt, the second information and the program that is preliminarily stored in the data center are loaded into the memory device from the data center, and the information processing apparatus is allowed to operate, based on the program and the second information, which have been loaded into the memory device. 
     In order to achieve the above-described object, a communication apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes a communication section configured to communicate through a first communication link; a storage apparatus that is of a mechanical type and is configured to store, in the storage apparatus, a program for allowing the communication apparatus to operate, and to store first information into the storage apparatus in conjunction with updating of the first information, the first information being information for allowing the communication apparatus to operate; a memory device of a writable type; and a controller configured to, during normal operation of the storage apparatus, transmit second information including at least a portion of the first information to a data center connected to the communication apparatus via a second communication link, the controller being further configured to, upon detection of a failure of the storage apparatus, bring operation of the storage apparatus to a halt, load the second information and the program that is preliminarily stored in the data center, into the memory device from the data center, and allow the communication apparatus to operate, based on the program and the second information, which have been loaded into the memory device. 
     In order to achieve the above-described object, a communication system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention includes a communication apparatus and a data center connected to the communication apparatus via a second communication link, the communication apparatus including a communication section configured to communicate through a first communication link; a storage apparatus that is of a mechanical type and is configured to store, in the storage apparatus, a program for allowing the communication apparatus to operate, and to store first information into the storage apparatus in conjunction with updating of the first information, the first information being information for allowing the communication apparatus to operate; a memory device of a writable type; and a controller configured to, during normal operation of the storage apparatus, transmit second information including at least a portion of the first information to the data center, the controller being further configured to, upon detection of a failure of the storage apparatus, bring operation of the storage apparatus to a halt, load the second information and the program that is preliminarily stored in the data center, into the memory device from the data center, and allow the communication apparatus to operate, based on the program and the second information, which have been loaded into the memory device. 
     According to some aspects of the present invention, an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system that, even when a failure has occurred in a storage apparatus, enable at least a portion of original operation to be automatically resumed are achieved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Exemplary features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first example embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a second example embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating the operation of the second example embodiment. 
     
    
    
     EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT 
     First Example Embodiment 
     Next, a first example embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     An information processing apparatus  10 , namely, an information processing apparatus according to this first example embodiment, includes a storage apparatus  11 , namely, a storage apparatus of a mechanical type; a memory device  12 , namely, a memory device of a writable type; and a controller  13 . The storage apparatus  11  stores, in the relevant storage apparatus  11 , a program for allowing the information processing apparatus  10  to operate. Further, the storage apparatus  11  stores first information into the relevant storage apparatus  11  in conjunction with updating of the first information. The first information is information for allowing the information processing apparatus  10  to operate. During normal operation of the storage apparatus  11 , the controller  13  transmits second information including at least a portion of the first information to a data center  20 . The data center  20  is connected to the information processing apparatus  10  via a communication link. Further, upon detection of a failure of the storage apparatus  11 , the controller  13  brings the operation of the storage apparatus  11  to a halt; loads the second information and the program that is preliminarily stored in the data center  20 , into the memory device  12  from the data center  20 . Further, based on the program and the second information, which have been loaded into the memory device  12 , the controller  13  allows the information processing apparatus  10  to operate. 
     Here, the storage apparatus  11  of a mechanical type may be a hard disk, a magneto optical disk, or the like. Meanwhile, the memory device  12  of a writable type may be a semiconductor-based memory device or the like. 
     When the information processing apparatus  10  has been subjected to a strong impact due to a disaster or the like, the storage apparatus  11  of a mechanical type is likely to be damaged; while the memory device  12  is unlikely to be damaged because the memory device  12  is a semiconductor-based memory device or the like. 
     For this reason, even when the storage apparatus  11  has been damaged, the information processing apparatus  10  of the present example embodiment is capable of loading the program for allowing the information processing apparatus  10  to function and the second information that is required at minimum for emergency operation, into the memory device  12  from the data center  20 . As a result, the information processing apparatus  10  is capable of carrying out the emergency operation on the basis of the program and the second information, which are stored in the memory device  12 . 
     As described above, even when a failure has occurred in the storage apparatus  11 , the information processing apparatus  10  of the present example embodiment is capable of automatically resuming at least a portion of its original operation. 
     Second Example embodiment 
     Next, a second example embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     [Description of Configuration] 
     A configuration example of a communication system  1000 , namely, a communication system of the present example embodiment, is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The communication system  1000  is constituted by a communication apparatus  100 , a data center  200 , and at least one connection destination  300 . 
     Here, the following description will be given on the assumption that the communication apparatus  100  is a wireless base station, and the connection destination  300  is a wireless terminal connected to the wireless base station. 
     The communication apparatus  100  and the connection destination  300  are interconnected by a first communication link. Further, the communication apparatus  100  and the data center  200  are interconnected by a second communication link. 
     Although one connection destination  300  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a plurality of connection destinations  300  may exist. 
     Further, each of the first communication link and the second communication link may be a wireless link or a wired link. 
     The communication apparatus  100  includes a storage apparatus  111 , a memory device  112 , a controller  113 , and a communication section  114 . 
     The storage apparatus  111  is a storage apparatus of a mechanical type, such as a hard disk drive, a magneto optical disk, or the like. 
     The memory device  112  is a memory of a writable type. The memory device  112  may be a nonvolatile memory. In most cases, the storage capacity of the memory device  112  is smaller than that of the storage apparatus  111 . 
     The controller  113  includes a central processing unit (CPU), and performs control of hardware and execution of software processing for the communication apparatus  100 . 
     The communication section  114  corresponds to hardware and software for communication, and in the case where the first communication link is a wireless communication link, the communication section  114  corresponds to a circuit and software for use in the execution of wireless communication. 
     The data center  200  may be a core node, or the like, that is equipped with, for example, another communication apparatus, a server of a cloud system, a monitoring apparatus for use in monitoring of base stations by a network operator, and/or the like. The connection destination  300  is another communication apparatus connected to the communication apparatus  100 . 
     [Description of Operation] 
     Next, the operation of the present example embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
     The communication apparatus  100  starts its operation and communicates with the connection destination  300  via the first communication link. 
     In step S 101 , the controller  113  determines whether or not any failure of the storage apparatus  111  has been detected (S 101 ). 
     When it is determined in step S 101  that the failure has been detected (“Y” in S 101 ), the operation flow proceeds to step S 105 . 
     When it is determined in step S 101  that the failure has not been detected (“N” in step S 101 ), the operation flow proceeds to step S 102 . 
     In step S 102 , the controller  113  determines whether or not operation information for the communication apparatus  100  has been changed (S 102 ). 
     Here, the operation information for the communication apparatus  100  may be the number of the connection destinations  300 , communication conditions for each of the connection destinations  300 , and the like 
     When it is recognized in step S 102  that the operation information has been changed (“Y” in S 102 ), the operation flow proceeds to step S 103 . 
     When it is recognized in step S 102  that the operation information has not been changed (“N” in S 102 ), the operation flow returns to step S 101 . 
     In step S 103 , the controller  113  stores the operation information (first information) into the storage apparatus  111  (S 103 ). 
     In step S 104 , the controller  113  transmits operation information (second information) included in the above operation information (the first information) and required at minimum for emergency operation (described later) of the communication apparatus  100 , to the data center  120  via the second communication link. The data center  120  stores the operation information (the second information), which is required for the emergency operation, into the relevant data center  120  (S 104 ). 
     Here, the emergency operation means minimum operation carried out upon occurrence of a failure of the storage apparatus  111 , and corresponds to operation in step S 105  and beyond. Further, the emergency operation may be, for example, operation that allows only voice calls to be executed and that brings data communication to a halt, or the like. 
     Further, as described above, the data center is a node that is equipped with another communication apparatus, a server of a cloud system, a monitoring apparatus for use in monitoring of base stations by a network operator, and/or the like, and that serves as a higher-tier node for wireless base stations. In general, the wireless base station periodically transmits, in its operation, the operation status of the communication apparatus  100  to such a node. This transmission of the operation status of the communication apparatus  100  corresponds to the operation in step S 104 , that is, the transmission of the operation information (the second information), which is required at minimum for the emergency operation, to the data center  120  from the communication apparatus  100 . 
     Subsequent to step S 104 , the operation flow returns to step S 101 . 
     In step S 105 , the controller  113  brings the operation of the storage apparatus  111  to a halt (S 105 ). 
     In step S 105 , the controller  113  may be further configured to, for example, cause the communication section  114  to operate and notify a maintenance operator for the communication apparatus  100  of the failure of the storage apparatus  111 . 
     In step S 106 , the controller  113  loads the operation information (the second information), which is required for the emergency operation, and a program that is required for communication through the second communication link and that is preliminarily stored in the data center  120 , into the memory device  112  from the data center  120  via the second communication link. Further, the memory device  112  stores in itself the operation information (the second information), required for the emergency operation, and the program, required for the communication (S 106 ). 
     In step S 107 , the controller  113  carries out the emergency operation for the communication apparatus  100  on the basis of the operation information (the second information), which is required for the emergency operation and is stored in the memory device  112 , and the program, which is required for the communication and is stored in the memory device  112  (S 107 ). 
     In most of communication apparatuses, the controller  113  records communication logs into the storage apparatus  111  during the normal operation. During the emergency operation in which the memory device  112  operates in substitution for the storage apparatus  111 , however, the controller  113  may be configured not to record the communication logs into the memory device  112  because the storage capacity of the memory device  112  is smaller than that of the storage apparatus  111 . 
     Further, during the emergency operation, the controller  13  may be also configured to transmit not the whole but only part of the operation information for the communication apparatus  100 , which is transmitted by the communication apparatus  100  to the higher-tier node during the normal operation, so as to reduce the load on the communication apparatus  100  and the load on the memory device  112 . 
     In addition, the emergency operation in step S 107  is continued until the completion of the repair or the replacement of the storage apparatus  111  by an operator. 
     Here, when the communication apparatus  100  has been subjected to a strong impact or the like due to a disaster or the like, the storage apparatus  111  of a mechanical type is likely to be damaged; while the memory device  112  is unlikely to be damaged because the memory device  112  is a semiconductor-based memory device or the like. 
     Accordingly, in the case where, even though the storage apparatus  111  has been damaged, the memory device  112  is not damaged, the communication apparatus  100  is capable of loading the program for allowing the communication apparatus  100  to function and the second information required at minimum for the emergency operation, into the memory device  112  from the data center  200 . As a result, based on the program and the second information  2 , which are stored in the memory device  12 , the communication apparatus  100  is capable of carrying out the emergency operation. 
     Although the preferred example embodiments of the present invention have been described heretofore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example embodiments and the configurations of the example embodiments can be expanded or modified into configurations, such as described below. 
     Even in the case where the communication apparatus  100 , having been described in the second example embodiment, is an information processing apparatus not including the communication section  114  and intended to perform operation other than the communication, this configuration does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. 
     Further, the present invention is also applicable to a configuration in which an information processing program that achieves the functions of the example embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to a relevant system or a relevant apparatus. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to example embodiments thereof, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.