WO2002037880A1

WO2002037880A1 - Remote controlling system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2002037880A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/001138
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chang Hee Cho; Jun Ho Lee
Original assignee: Onionsoftware Inc.
Priority date: 2000-10-23
Filing date: 2001-07-04
Publication date: 2002-05-10
Also published as: AU2001269557A1; KR100419361B1; KR20020032284A

Abstract

A remote control system, which is connected to equipment so that it can communicate with the equipment and which transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment and controls the equipment according to a control command input by the operator, and a remote control method for the same are provided. The remote control system includes a storage unit for storing configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, and various types of detailed information about the equpment; a control server for determining whether abnormality has occurred in the equipment based on the information stored in the storage unit, transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to an operator, receiving a control command input in response to the mesage by the operator, and a controlling the equipment; and a wireless Internet server for receiving the control command from the operator through wireless Internet and transmitting it to the control server. Accordingly, occurrence of abnormality in the equipment can be transmitted to the operator in real time, and the operator can control the equipment even at a place remote from the equipment.

Description

REMOTE CONTROLLING SYSTEM AND METHOD

Technical Field

The present invention relates to remote controlling system and method, and more particularly, to remote controlling system and method for reporting the abnormal or normal state of equipment to an operator's mobile communications terminal and remotely controlling the equipment according to control commands input by the operator.

Background Art

At present, most companies operate their own computation laboratories or computer systems and network equipment which correspond to the computation laboratories to be suitable for their computation affairs and have operators or operating teams managing these computation equipment.

Unlike a conventional centralized system environment, a present distributed system environment increases the amount of computation equipment managed by operators. Ever considering conservatively, general companies should be equipped with many different types of computation equipment such as a basic business system, a mail server, a web server, a file server, a database server, a router, a switch, and uninterrupted power supply.

Recently, researches for preventing computation equipment from suddenly stopping have been developed. As a result, a technique referred to as "Network & System Management (NSM)" has been developed. The NSM technique allows an operator to integrally manage check of the normality or abnormality of various types of computation equipment and control of computation resources at one place. Such an integral management system increases efficiency in managing computation equipment, and particularly, is greatly effective in preventing the computation equipment from suddenly stopping.

Although the conventional NSM technique and software using the same provide various and convenient functions for management of computation equipment to an operator, the operator is annoyed at monitoring the manager screen of NSM software all the time. To overcome this problem, software for reporting the abnormal state of computation equipment to the operator through electronic mail (e-mail) or wireless paging has been developed. However, even if the operator is informed of the abnormality of computation equipment, he/she cannot control the computation equipment if he/she is remote from a place where the computation equipment is installed.

In the case of production equipment, which needs to be operated for 24 hours a day, as well as computation equipment, when the abnormality of equipment is not immediately controlled, this influences a yield and a sale. To quickly deal with the abnormality of computation equipment and production equipment, a conventional management system is provided with a function of informing operators of the computation equipment and production equipment of occurrence of abnormality through wireless paging using pagers. However, in such a conventional management system, check and control of the abnormality of equipment using the above-described software can be performed only using an apparatus in which the software can be executed. Accordingly, it is difficult for an operator to check various types of abnormality which can occur in the equipment when the operator leaves the office or is remote from a place where the equipment is installed. Moreover, it is difficult for the operator to quickly control the abnormality and restore the equipment.

Disclosure of the Invention To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide remote control system and method for informing an operator of occurrence of abnormality in equipment and quickly controlling the equipment according to control commands input by the operator. To achieve the object of the invention, there is provided a remote control system which is connected to equipment so that it can communicate with the equipment and which transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment and controls the equipment according to a control command input by the operator. The remote control system includes a storage unit for storing configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, and various types of detailed information about the equipment; a control server for determining whether abnormality has occurred in the equipment based on the information stored in the storage unit, transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to an operator, receiving a control command input in response to the message by the operator, and controlling the equipment; and a wireless Internet server for receiving the control command from the operator through wireless Internet and transmitting it to the control server.

Here, the wireless Internet server is connected to a mobile communications carrier so that they can communicate with each other, the mobile communications carrier transmitting the message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to the operator in the form of a short message.

In addition, the remote control system further includes a message transceiving terminal for transmitting the message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to the operator and transmitting the control command input by the operator to the control server, without using the Internet. There is also provided a remote control method for a remote control system which is connected to equipment so that it can communicate with the equipment and which transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment and controls the equipment according to a control command input by the operator. The remote control method includes storing configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, and various types of detailed information about the equipment; determining whether abnormality has occurred in the equipment based on the information stored in the storage unit and transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to an operator; and receiving a control command input in response to the message by the operator and controlling the equipment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the configuration of a remote control system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of controlling a remote control system according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram for exhibiting an example of setting a checklist and a check cycle for equipment according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for exhibiting an example of setting operators to be informed of occurrence of abnormality in equipment and conditions of abnormality of the equipment according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram for exhibiting an example of setting equipment that registered operators can access according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an embodiment of a procedure of remotely controlling equipment in an abnormal state through an operator's mobile communications terminal according to the present invention; FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method through which an operator remotely controls equipment through a wireless Internet server according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an embodiment of a procedure of remotely controlling equipment based on the authority of an operator through a mobile communications terminal according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a procedure of remotely controlling equipment without using a wireless Internet server according to the present invention.

Best mode for carrying out the Invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of remote control system and method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram for showing the control of an embodiment of a remote control system according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a remote control system 20 includes a storage unit 21 , a control server 22, a wireless Internet server 23, a message server 24, and an electronic mail (e-mail) server 25. The remote control system 20 is connected to equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 to be controlled, an operator 30, and a mobile communications carrier 40 such that they can communicate with each other.

The operator 30 communicates with the remote control system 20 using a mobile communications terminal 31 which can receive messages. The remote control system 20 transmits data to and receives data from the mobile communications carrier 40 through the Internet which is a computer network connected world-wide using a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The control server 22 transmits data to and receives data from each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 through a communications network such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). The storage unit 21 stores configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, event information, use environment information, and operating state information about the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 to be controlled. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the storage unit 21 stores a check list and check cycle for each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14, conditions of abnormality for ' check items, a cycle of provision of an equipment abnormality message reporting occurrence of abnormality in equipment, and information about an operator to be informed of occurrence of abnormality in each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14. Referring to FIG. 5, the storage unit 21 additionally stores information about each of the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 which can be accessed by the particular operator 30.

The control server 22 checks the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 to find out whether they operate normally or abnormally based on various types of information stored in the storage unit 21 and provides a message to the operator 30 according to the result of the check. The wireless Internet server 23 receives a control command provided from the operator 30 according to the abnormality or normality of each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 through the wireless Internet and transmits the control command to the control server 22.

The wireless Internet server 23 is connected to the mobile communications carrier 40 such that it can communicate with control server 22. The mobile communications carrier 40 transmits a message about the abnormality or normality of each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 to the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 in the form of a short message. Here, the message may be a visual message (form example, a character message or a symbol message) or an acoustic message (for example, a voice message, a music message, or an alarm). The control server 22 controls the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 in response to a control command transmitted through the wireless Internet server 23. The wireless Internet server 23 processes a business logic for communication with the control server 22.

The remote control system 20 further includes a message transceiving terminal 26 used for communication with the mobile communications carrier 40 when the communication between the remote control system 20 and the Internet is impossible. The message transceiving terminal 26 transmits a message about the abnormality or normality of each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 directly to mobile communications carrier 40 and transmits a control command, which is input by the operator 30 based on the message provided to the operator 30, to the control server 22. Here, communication between the operator 30 and the wireless Internet server 23 and communication between the operator 30 and the message transceiving terminal 26 is performed through an air interface. In addition, the remote control system 20 may further include the e-mail server 25 connected to the control server 22. The e-mail server 25 is provided for transmitting a message about the abnormality or normality of each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 to the operator 30 by e-mail and checking whether the operator 30 has received the message.

The remote control system 20 is connected to a server computer 10, a network equipment 11, a security equipment 12, and a power equipment 14 such that the control server 22 can communicate with them. An agent 15, which is a program executing services according to a control command from the control server 22 and a schedule previously set, is installed in each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14. The agent 15 may be a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent or a particular control server agent performing an agent function corresponding to the control server 22 of the remote control system 20. The agent 15 provides performance information and the abnormality or normality of each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 to the control server 22, executes a control command received from the control server 22, and reports the result of the execution to the control server 22.

With such a configuration, the control server 22 checks the managing state (for example, the managing system and operating state) of the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 and the managing conditions (for example, the rate of used central processing unit (CPU), usable space in a memory, and the operating state of a router and a switch). The control server 22 limits the operator 30 previously set and equipment which can be accessed by the set operator 30, and controls each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 according to a control command input by the operator 30. For example, when abnormality occurs in the router, the control server 22 informs the operator 30 of the occurrence of abnormality and controls the router according to a control command input by the operator 30. When abnormality occurs in equipment such as the power equipment 14 requiring immediate treatment, the control server 22 informs the operator 30 of the occurrence of abnormality, performs operation such as data backup and system backup, and shuts down the system to control the equipment having abnormality. In addition, when a particular accident such as an intrusion of a hacker or a down of a web server occurs, the control server 22 may be designed to automatically take predetermined countermeasure against the accident before informing the operator 30.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a procedure of controlling a remote control system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6.

In step S21, configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, and event information about each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 is stored in the storage unit 21. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the operator 30 selects and stores the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 to be checked, a check cycle and operators for each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14, and an equipment which can be accessed by each particular operator in the storage unit 21. Once the checklist and abnormality conditions for each of the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 are stored in the storage unit 21, the control server 22 checks the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 based on the information stored in the storage unit 21 in step S22. After checking the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 in the predetermined check cycle, the control server 22 determines whether abnormality has occurred in each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 in step S23. If it is determined that abnormality has occurred in each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 in step S23, the control server 22 requests the mobile communications carrier 40 to transmit an abnormality message about the equipment having abnormality and the abnormal state of the equipment to the operator 30 in step S24. Here, as shown in (a) of FIG. 6, the abnormality message the transmission of which is requested by the control server 22 is transmitted to the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 through the mobile communications carrier 40. Alternatively, the control server 22 may transmit the message directly to the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 through the message transceiving terminal 26 without using the Internet.

After requesting the mobile communications carrier 40 to transmit the abnormality message in step S24, the control server 22 stores the abnormality message in the storage unit 21 in step S25 to compose an abnormality history report based on the frequency of occurrence of abnormality and the state of the abnormality in each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14. Accordingly, the operator 30 can easily understand when each of the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 needs to be replaced and repaired and what type of abnormality frequently occurs in equipment having particular specifications based on the abnormality history report.

Thereafter, the control server 22 determines whether the abnormality message is received by the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 in step S26. If it is determined that the abnormality message is received by the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30, the control server 22 checks the corresponding equipment 10, 11 , 12, or 14 to determine whether the abnormality has been solved within a predetermined period of time (for example, when a message reporting that the rate of used CPU is 90% or greater, it is determined whether the rate of used CPU has been lowered below the reported rate within the predetermined period of time) in step S27. If it is determined that the abnormality has been solved, the control server 22 determines whether to terminate the check of the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 in step S28. If termination of the check is determined, the check of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 ends. If continuation of the check is determined, the procedure goes back to step S22.

If it is determined that the abnormality message is not received by the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 in step S26, or if it is determined that the abnormality has not been solved within the predetermined period of time in step S27, the control server 22 requests the mobile communications carrier 40 to transmit the abnormality message to other predetermined second and third operators in step S29. Thereafter, the control server 22 determines whether the abnormality message has been received by the operators in step S26.

Hereinafter, a procedure through which an operator remotely controls equipment through the wireless Internet server 23 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 through 8.

Once the operator 30 accesses the control server 22 through the wireless Internet server 23 in step S71 , operator login for authenticating the accessing operator 30 is performed in step S72. Operator login is usually performed by inputting an operator ID and password. A multi-password system is used to prevent external intruders from accessing to the control server 22. If the operator login is completed, the control server 22 determines whether abnormality has occurred in each of the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 based on the check items for the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14, which are stored in the storage unit 21 , in step S73.

If it is determined that abnormality has occurred in an equipment 10, 11 , 12, or 14 in step S73, description of an abnormal equipment, description of the abnormality, and a control command menu are sequentially provided, as shown in (a) through (c) of FIG. 6, in step S74. Then, the operator 30 selects a control command from the control command menu for the corresponding equipment in step S77. In contrast, it is determined that abnormality has not occurred in an equipment 10, 11 , 12, or 14 in step S73, a controllable equipment menu displaying the names of equipments to which the operator 30 is authorized to access and a control command menu are provided, as shown in FIG. 8, in step S75. The operator 30 selects equipment to be monitored from the controllable equipment menu and monitors a current state of the selected equipment in step S76. After monitoring the current state of the equipment, the operator 30 selects a control command for the equipment in step S77.

Once the operator 30 selects a control command for the abnormal equipment or the selected equipment in step S77, the control server 22 identifies whether the control command selected by the operator 30 requires a synchronous process which is performed in real time within a short time or an asynchronous process which is performed according to a long term schedule in step S78. If it is identified that the selected control command requires the synchronous process, the control server 22 transmits the result of processing the corresponding equipment 10, 11, 12, or 14 to the operator 30 in real time in step S79. If it is identified that the selected control command requires the asynchronous process, the control server 22 processes the selected control command according to a predetermined schedule and transmits a short message reporting the completion of the process to the operator 30 in step S80 and terminates the remote control in step 82.

Meanwhile, if the operator 30 does not select a control command in step S77, the remote control ends in step S81. FIGS. 6 and 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention show that various control commands are provided to the operator 30 so that the operator 30 can select one of them. However, alternatively, equipment may be controlled by a predetermined character or symbol (for example, * for stopping router according to abnormality in the router or # for restarting router according to abnormality in the router) which is directly input by the operator 30.

FIG. 9 shows a procedure of remotely controlling equipment according to a control command provided from an operator's mobile communications terminal without using a wireless Internet server according to the present invention.

The operator 30 provides a control command to the message transceiving terminal 26 through the mobile communications terminal 31, and the control command is transmitted to the control server 22 through the message server 24 in step S91. Once the control command is received from the operator 30, the control server 22 identifies whether the telephone number of the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 is registered one in step S92.

If it is identified that the telephone number of the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 is registered one, operator authentication is performed to determine whether the operator 30 is an authorized one in step S93. Since the authorized operator has unique ID and password, the operator 30 is authenticated through input of his/her ID and password. Here, a multi-password system can be used to prevent external intrusion. If the operator 30 is identified as an authorized one in step S94, it is determined whether the control command provided by the operator 30 is appropriate in step S95. If it is determined that the control command is appropriate, the control server 22 controls the relevant equipment 10, 11 , 12, or 14 according to the control command in step S96. Thereafter, the control server 22 transmits the result of controlling the equipment 10, 11 , 12, or 14 to the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 through the message transceiving terminal 26 in step S97.

The operator 30 can provide a control command in various forms such as character messages and voice messages. Voice messages or character messages provided by the operator 30 are control commands which are previously agreed between the operator 30 and the equipments 10, 11 , 12, and 14 so that the equipments 10, 11, 12, and 14 can be controlled according to the control commands corresponding to a normal or abnormal state of the quipmentslO, 1 1 , 12, and 14. In FIG. 9, if it is identified that the telephone number of the mobile communications terminal 31 of the operator 30 is not registered one in step S92, if it is determined that the ID and password input by the operator 30 for operator authentication are not correct in step S94, or if it is determined that the control command provided from the operator 30 is not appropriate in step S95, an error message corresponding to each case is transmitted to the mobile communications terminal 31 in step S98, and the remote control ends.

The above embodiments have been used in a descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, shapes and structures of the members specified in the embodiments can be modified within the scope of the invention.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, remote control system and method according to the present invention quickly informs an operator of occurrence of abnormality in equipment and allows the operator to easily control the abnormal equipment by inputting a control command corresponding to the abnormality in a place remote from the equipment.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A remote control system connected to equipment so that it can communicate with the equipment to control the equipment, the remote control system comprising: a storage unit for storing configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, and various types of detailed information about the equipment; a control server for determining whether abnormality has occurred in the equipment based on the information stored in the storage unit, transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to an operator, receiving a control command input in response to the message by the operator, and controlling the equipment; and a wireless Internet server for receiving the control command from the operator through wireless Internet and transmitting it to the control server.

2. The remote control system of claim 1, wherein the wireless Internet server is connected to a mobile communications carrier so that they can communicate with each other, the mobile communications carrier transmitting the message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to the operator in the form of a short message.

3. The remote control system of claim 1 , further comprising a message transceiving terminal for transmitting the message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to the operator and transmitting the control command input by the operator to the control server, without using the Internet.

4. The remote control system of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic mail (e-mail) server for transmitting the message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to the operator by e-mail.

5. The remote control system of claim 1 , wherein the message is at least one of an acoustic message and a visual message.

6. The remote control system of claim 1 , wherein an agent performing a service according to a schedule, which is previously agreed between the control server and the equipment, is installed in the equipment.

7. A remote control method for controlling equipment comprising the steps of: storing configuration information, performance information, operator information, failure information, and various types of detailed information about the equipment; determining whether abnormality has occurred in the equipment based on the information stored in the storage unit and transmits a message about a normal or abnormal state of the equipment to an operator; and receiving a control command input in response to the message by the operator and controlling the equipment.

8. The remote control method of claim 7, wherein the step of transmitting the message to the operator comprises transmitting the message to the operator through a mobile communications carrier providing a short message service or transmitting the message to the operator without using the mobile communications carrier.

9. The remote control method of claim 8, in the case where the message is transmitted to the operator through the mobile communications carrier, further comprising the step of determining whether the operator has received the message and transmitting the message another predetermined operator when it is determined that the first operator has not received the message.

10. The remote control method of claim 7, wherein the message is at least one of a visual message and an acoustic message.