JPH0470240A - Communication controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and speedily analyze whereabouts of trace information in which an error has occurred when there is a fault by recording result information on the execution of a communication procedure at the time of checking a response with command information and response information on information on the communication procedure in an internal memory. CONSTITUTION:MPU 8 issues a command 11 to a communication control part 9 in correspondence with an input instruction from a system bus 5 and data communication is executed through a communication line 13. The response 12 is reported to MPU 8. MPU 8 analyzes the response 12 and issues the command 11 again in accordance with a recovery procedure and checks the response 12 if there is abnormality. At that time, MPU 8 records information on a command string 3 and a response string 4 and the response 12 in the trace area of RAM 7 as error flags 2 by '0' and '1' in correspondence with normality and abnormality as the analyzed result of farmware. Thus, trace information can efficiently be analyzed by the flags when the fault occurs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a communication control device having a communication procedure tracing method using firmware of the communication control device connected to a common bus or the like.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the communication control device, and FIG. 3 shows a communication procedure tracing system according to the prior art.

Conventionally, in this type of communication control device, input/output commands from the system bus 5 are sent to the MPU 8 via the bus control section 6.
will be notified. The MPU 8 issues a command 11 to the communication control unit via the internal bus 10 to control the communication control unit 9.
performs data communication with a device connected to the communication line 13. Then, as a result of this communication, the MPU 8 reports a communication response 12.

The MPU 8 checks this response 12, and if retransmission (reception) is necessary, the MPU 8 issues the command 11 again to the communication control section 9, and checks the response 12 that is the response.

In this way, the communication control device undergoes recovery processing by the firmware according to a certain determined communication procedure.

Generally, this firmware is stored in the ROM 14.

Because this recovery process becomes complicated in the communication procedures of recent increasingly sophisticated communication protocols, the command string 3, which is the information used as a command for failure analysis information when a failure occurs, and the information received as a response. Generally, the response string 4 is R as trace information.
It is stored in an arbitrary area of AM7.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional communication control described above, the command string 3 and response string 4, which are trace information, are R
It is recorded in the AM7 area.

At this time, trace pointer 1 indicates the address of the trace area to be recorded next. In MPU8, response 1
1. Check to see if there are any errors, and if there are any errors, follow the recovery steps and start the following command.

Therefore, when looking at the trace information when a failure occurs, it is impossible to know where the error occurred in the trace information unless the contents of the response string are analyzed. In addition, in recent communication procedures that have become more complex and sophisticated, there is a drawback in that the task of analyzing this response string is quite time-consuming.

[Means to solve the problem]

A communication control device of the present invention is a communication control device in which an arbitrary communication procedure is controlled by firmware of a microprocessor and information on the communication procedure is recorded in an internal memory. It is constructed by simultaneously recording an area for recording information and response information, and information indicating whether the communication procedure was executed normally when the firmware checks the response, in the internal memory as trace information.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a tracing method of a communication means according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication control device.

Trace pointer 1 indicates the address of the trace area where trace information (error flag 2, command string 3, response string 4) is to be recorded next.

Input commands from the system bus 5 are notified to the MPU 8 via the bus control unit 6. The MPU 8 issues a command 11 to the communication control unit via the internal bus 10, so that the communication control unit 9 performs data communication with a device connected to the communication line 13. Then, a response 12 is reported to the MPU 8 as a result of this communication.

The MPU 8 analyzes this response 12, and if there is an abnormality, the MPU 8
issues the command 11 to the communication control unit 9 again, and checks the response 12 that is the response.

At that time, the MPU 8 traces the information of the command string 3 and response string 4 and the response 12 by setting it as an error flag 2 and setting it as "0" if it is normal and "1" if it is abnormal as a result of the firmware's analysis of the response 12. The address of the trace area to be recorded next is set in trace pointer 1.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention provides 1. analysis of trace information when a failure occurs. This has the effect of being able to efficiently analyze trace information and provide information.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a communication procedure tracing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a communication control device, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional communication procedure tracing method. 1...Trace pointer, 2...Error flag, 3
...Command string, 4...Response string, 5...Common bus, 6...Bus control ffi, 7...RAM18
...MPU19...Communication control unit, 10...Internal bus, Engineering 1...Command, 12...Response, 13
...Communication line, 14-...ROM.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An area for recording command information and response information, which are information on the communication procedure, in a communication control device that controls arbitrary communication procedures and records information on the communication procedures in an internal memory using firmware of a microprocessor. and information indicating whether the communication procedure was normally executed when the firmware checks the response, are simultaneously recorded in an internal memory as trace information.