METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR CONFIRMING LINK CONNECTIVITY, AND ETHERNET (R) DEVICE PROVIDED WITH LINK CONNECTIVITY CONFIRMATION FUNCTION

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable link connectivity confirmation with little constraints about the number of opposite devices and a message transmission interval. SOLUTION: One Ethernet (R) device includes procedures for periodically transmitting a connection confirmation message including transmission source identification information. The other Ethernet (R) device includes procedures for receiving the connection conformation message and extracting the transmission source identification information, procedures for registering the extracted transmission source identification information as well as arrival time information of the message in an address table, procedures for updating the registered arrival time information about a relevant link when a message including transmission source identification information preregistered in the address table is received, and procedures for discriminating a received status of a message for each link on the basis of the arrival time information and deleting from the address table the registration of a link in which messages are not received for more than a prescribed period of time. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI