Patent ID: 8711678

Claim:
A management computer that manages a communication network including a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links connecting between said plurality of nodes, said management computer comprising: a storage unit in which a route information indicating a transfer route of frames in said communication network is stored; an entry control unit configured to instruct each node of said plurality of nodes to set up a forwarding table indicating a correspondence relationship between an input source and a forwarding destination of frames; and a monitoring unit configured to perform, based on said route information, transmission and reception of frames to and from said communication network, wherein said entry control unit instructs said each node to set up said forwarding table such that frames are forwarded along said transfer route indicated by said route information, wherein said plurality of nodes include: a start-point node being a start-point of said transfer route in a forward direction; and an end-point node being an end-point of said transfer route in said forward direction, wherein said monitoring unit refers to said route information to transmit a first forward frame to said start-point node, wherein, if said monitoring unit does not receive said first forward frame from said end-point node within a predetermined period of time after transmitting said first forward frame to said start-point node, said monitoring unit detects a failure occurrence on said transfer route, wherein, if said failure occurrence is detected, said entry control unit instructs said each node to add said management computer to said forwarding destination, and said monitoring unit transmits a second forward frame to said start-point node, wherein said plurality of nodes include a first node and a second node that are successive in said forward direction on said transfer route, and wherein, if said monitoring unit receives said second forward frame from said first node and does not receive said second forward frame from said second node, said monitoring unit determines that a failure occurs between said first node and said second node.