JP2002540739A - Method and apparatus for managing resources in a network - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] A resource management method in a network of home electronic media devices that enables a user to manage from the viewpoint of “service-centric” or “content-centric” of the network. In one embodiment, the method is implemented as a software resource manager that provides centralized resource specification, reservation, and access control functions to a home server of a home entertainment system. In particular, the user application of the home server receives a service designation (or content designation) request from a user and converts the service designation request into information identifying resources required for providing the service. Then, upon receiving the request, the software resource manager determines whether necessary resources are available. If the required resources are available, the software resource manager sends control signals to the sending device and the receiving device to perform the requested media service. Further, the software resource manager of the present invention provides an event scheduling and request arbitration function to a network of home electronic devices and performs a policy confirmation function.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is related to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 281,636, filed March 30, 1999, assigned to the assignee of the present invention by Edward B. Eytchison, entitled "Home Electronics." Resource Management Method in Equipment Network (METHOD OF MANAGING R
ESOURCES WITHIN A NETWORK OF CONSUMER ELECTRONIC DEVICES).

[0002] The present invention relates generally to home electronic equipment. Specifically, the present invention relates to networked home electronic media devices. One of the embodiments described herein is a resource manager that can be managed from a content-centric viewpoint in a network of consumer electronic devices.

2. Description of the Related Art Entertainment systems are generally used in a large number of home-use televisions, compact disc (CD) players, tuners, digital video disc (DVD) players, video tape recorders (VTRs), high-fidelity speakers, and the like. It is composed of electronic media devices. Usually, many wires are required to connect these devices to obtain a desired function. For example, one wire is needed to connect a DVD player to a television receiver, and another wire is needed to connect a DVD player to a tuner. Also, one more wire is needed to connect the tuner to the speaker. Most of these devices have a limited number of input terminals and output terminals for connecting to other devices. Thus, most entertainment systems necessarily consist of only a small number of different devices.

In recent years, home electronic media devices that can be networked using a standard communication protocol layer (eg, the IEEE 1394 communication standard) have been introduced. The IEEE 1394 standard is an international standard that is compatible with both asynchronous data transfer and isochronous data transfer, and that can realize an inexpensive high-speed serial bus structure. By connecting digital devices to each other according to the IEEE 1394 standard, a high-speed serial bus capable of making general-purpose input / output connections can be obtained. IEEE1
By using the 394 standard, by defining a digital interface of an application, it is not necessary for the application to convert digital data into analog data when transmitting data via a bus. This eliminates the need for the receiving application to convert the analog data to digital form since the receiving application receives digital data from the bus instead of analog data. The IEEE 1394 standard is suitable for home electronic communications because devices can be attached to and detached from the bus while the serial bus is in use. When installing or removing devices in this way, the bus is connected between devices currently connected to the bus.
Automatically reconfigure for data transmission. Each device on the bus is a “node”
Each device has its own address space.

[0005] The IEEE 1394 serial communication bus for networking home electronic devices has made it possible to develop an entertainment network composed of many home electronic devices. Further, the content can be provided from one sending device to a plurality of receiving devices by the IEEE1394 serial bus. For example, a DVD player in a living room can be shared by a plurality of television receivers in a bedroom or a kitchen. However, when sharing a sending device in an entertainment network, a problem arises when multiple users want to use the same sending device at the same time. Therefore, it is desired to provide an access control system that allocates access control of each device with high accuracy.

[0006] Another problem with such entertainment networks is bandwidth contention. For example, if many television receivers and DVD players are connected to a home network, the IEEE 1394 serial bus will have sufficient bandwidth to accommodate multiple simultaneous isochronous channels for multiple video streams. May not. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method for managing a network of home electronic media devices. It is also desirable to provide a resource management method in a network of home electronic media devices that can handle bandwidth contention.

[0007] Furthermore, as a problem concerning the entertainment network, media (
For example, since CDs and DVDs are distributed in a network, a user may find it difficult to find a desired medium. For example, assume that a home entertainment network is composed of several DVD players or DVD jukeboxes, each of which can hold hundreds of DVDs. At this time, it is very burdensome for the user to check the DVD of each device to find the desired DVD. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a resource management method in a home network in which a user does not need to be involved in management or control of a complicated device.

[0008] Further, as a problem related to the entertainment network, when connected to the Internet, the home electronic device or information stored therein may be damaged by unauthorized access by a third party (for example, a hacker). There is that. Therefore, it is desired to provide a resource management method in a home network that protects a device from misuse or unauthorized access.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an advanced, centralized, resource allocation / home allocation for home networks.
Provide a reservation / access control system. Furthermore, the present invention can manage users, user applications, system processes, and the like from a "service-centric" or "content-centric" viewpoint of the network, rather than a "device-centric" viewpoint of the network. Provide a method of managing resources in a network, as possible. Also, the present invention does not require the user to directly control each device,
Provided is a method for managing resources in an entertainment network so that a requested service can be provided to a user.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a network (eg, home network, office network) is connected to a plurality of home electronic media devices (eg, a DVD player, a television, etc.) connected via a high-speed connection means such as an IEEE 1394 bus. And a home server. In particular, the home network user and the user application do not need to directly control each device. Users and user applications need only request the provision of services from a software resource manager that has full control over all resources of the network.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, when a service is requested by a user, a resource manager converts a service specification (or content specification) request into device-specific information and provides a media service. It is determined whether or not the necessary devices are available. The software resource manager also determines whether the routing path between the required devices has sufficient bandwidth to provide the requested media service. If the required equipment and bandwidth are available, the software resource manager sends a control signal to the device proxy to provide the requested media service. In this way, the user and other user applications do not participate in the entertainment network resources. Since the devices and device proxies are isolated from the user application, a secure entertainment network can be realized.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the software resource manager has a resource database for detecting whether or not the home electronic device of the home entertainment network is usable. When a device is in use or unavailable, the device is removed from the resource database. When the device becomes available again, it is added to the resource database. As described above, the software resource manager can easily determine whether each device is usable. Further, the software resource manager has a path database for determining whether a routing path between devices is available. The path database stores all possible routing paths between all devices and bandwidth requirements for all devices. With such information, the software resource manager can quickly determine whether the network can provide sufficient bandwidth to provide the requested media service.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the software resource manager has a reservation database for storing resource reservation information based on clock or calendar time. In this embodiment, the resource manager is configured to receive future media service requests. This request is stored in the reservation database. Further, the home server of the present invention has a scheduler for scheduling the execution of the requested media service at some point in the future.

[0014] Advantages of the invention not specifically described above will become apparent in the following detailed written description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In addition, a detailed description of known structures and devices will be omitted without obscuring the features of the present invention.

I. The Computer System Environment of the Present Invention In the following detailed description, some operations are described in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processes, and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These descriptions and expressions are the means used by engineers in the data processing field to most effectively convey the technical content to other engineers in the data processing field. Procedures, computer-executed steps, logic blocks, processes, etc., are here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of instructions leading to a desired result. These steps are those that require physical manipulation of data representing physical quantities to achieve a clear and useful result. It may be convenient for these signals to be bits, values, elements, symbols, letters, words, numbers, etc., mainly for general use.

However, all such and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely labels for these quantities for convenience. As is clear from the following description, unless otherwise specified, here, "collect", "calculate", "judge", "group", "map", "assign"
And so forth refer to the operation or process of a computer system or similar electronic computing device. A computer system or similar electronic computing device operates on data represented as electronic quantities in registers and memories of the computer system, and also in computer system memory, registers and other information storage / transmission / display devices. Convert to other data expressed as physical quantities.

The specific part of the present invention can operate in a server system (for example, a home server system). In general, the home server (or other advanced electronic device such as a set-top box) of the entertainment network according to the present invention implements the general-purpose computer system 101 which can realize the present invention and can operate as a platform corresponding to these elements. Have. As shown in FIG.
The computer system 101 is connected to an address / data bus 102 for communicating information such as addresses, data, and control signals, and is connected to the address / data bus 102.
A central processing unit 104 for processing information and instructions; a volatile memory 106 connected to the address / data bus 102 and storing information and instructions for the central processing unit 104, such as a random access memory (RAM); , Connected to the address / data bus 102 and storing static information and instructions for the central processing unit 104, for example, a read-only memory (R
OM), a data storage device 110 connected to the address / data bus 102 and storing information and instructions, for example, a disk drive such as a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive, and an address / data bus 102. And an alphanumeric key and function keys connected to the address / data bus 102 for communicating information and command selection to the central processing unit 104. Connected to an optional alphanumeric input device 114 for performing
An arbitrary cursor control or pointing device 116 for communicating information or command selection input by a user to the central processing unit 104 and a signal connected to the address / data bus 102 and input / output to / from the system 101. Communication device 11 for communication
And 2. The communication device 112 is an IEEE 1394 serial communication bus 2
15 to be connected to the entertainment network. Further, the computer system 101 may include another communication device (for example, a modem) for connecting the home network to the Internet.

The program instructions executed by the home server 101 are RA
It can be stored in a computer-usable memory device such as M106 or ROM 108, or data storage device 110, and when these program instructions are executed as a group, they can be referred to as logical blocks or procedures. The data generated at various stages of the present invention, including path usable information and resource usable information, is also stored in the RAM 106 or the ROM 10 as shown in FIG.
8 or data storage device 110.

The display device 118 of FIG. 1 used in the computer system 101 of the present invention is optional, and includes a flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD), a television receiver, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a graphic that can be recognized by a user. Other devices suitable for creating images and alphanumeric characters may be used. The cursor control device 116 allows a computer user to dynamically instruct a two-dimensional movement of a pointer visible on the display screen of the display device 118. Many practical examples of the cursor control device include a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and special keys of the alphanumeric input device 114 capable of instructing movement in a predetermined moving direction and method. Is known in

II. Network Environment According to the Present Invention FIG. 2 shows an entertainment network 2 in which the present invention can be implemented.
00 shows one embodiment. The network 200 is configured by home electronic media devices (including computer systems), which are nodes, but may be expanded to include other electronic devices. Network 200 is an IEEE
A digital video camera 210, a video tape recorder (VTR) 212, connected to each other by an E1394-1995 (IEEE 1394) bus 215,
Home server 214, set-top box 213, and television receiver (
TV) 211a to 211c and a compact disc (CD) jukebox 2
20 and DVD players 222a and 222b. Set-top box 213 can be connected to receive media information from a cable television receiver system. An IEEE 1394 bus line or cable allows a consumer electronic media device to transmit data, commands, and parameters to other devices on the network 200.

The home network 200 shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and the home network according to the present invention can be configured by variously combining constituent devices.
Further, the home electronic device of the network 200 may be accessed via a user application such as a web browser.

The IEEE 1394 communication standard in the network 200 in FIG. 2 corresponds to isochronous data transfer of digitally encoded information. An isochronous data transfer is a real-time transfer in which the time interval between valid instances is the same length in both the sending application and the receiving application. Each packet of isochronously transferred data is transferred in its own time. An example of a “real time” application for isochronous data transfer is transfer from VTR 212 to TV 211a in FIG. The VTR 212 transfers each packet representing an image or sound recorded in a limited time at the time interval, and
211a. The bus of the IEEE 1394 standard has a plurality of channels for isochronous data transfer between applications. Specifically, a 6-bit channel number is sent with the data to ensure receipt by the appropriate application. Due to the features of the IEEE 1394 bus, a plurality of devices can simultaneously transmit isochronous data via the bus. This also allows media (eg, CD, DVD, video cassette, etc.) to be distributed within home network 200. Furthermore, this allows each device of the entertainment network 200 to be distributed in the home.

III. One Embodiment of Resource Manager According to the Present Invention A conventional home network is managed by a user from a "device-centric" viewpoint of the network. That is, in a conventional home network, a user is provided with a list of devices in the network, and the user has to individually control each electronic device in the network to obtain a desired function. For example, D
A user who wants to play VD first selects a DVD player from the user interface of the home network system, and selects a "play" button. When the home network is managed from a “device-centric” viewpoint as described above, when a large number of devices are connected to the home network, the user is troublesome and complicated. The resource manager according to the present invention seeks to solve such a conventional problem by allowing the home network to be managed by the user from a "content-centric" or "service-centric" viewpoint of the network. ing. According to the present invention, by managing the home network from a “content-centric” or “service-centric” perspective, users can use the content or services available from the network regardless of the equipment that has and provides the services. Can be selected.

According to the present invention, an audio / visual (A / V) stream, DVD (or V.V.) accessible by a home network (eg, network 200)
A movie stored on a CD, etc., a soundtrack, a web page, etc., stored on a CD are considered as “content”. Here, the “service” refers to a system and a method for supplying content accessible by a network and each device of the network to a user of a home network. For example, the service provided by the home server may be, for example, providing a movie to a specific room in the home. Further, for example, a user in a living room may request reproduction of a movie. In this case, "content" is an A / V stream of a movie stored in a DVD jukebox connected to the home network,
"Service" is to provide this A / V stream in the living room. The resource manager of the present invention can provide services with minimal user control,
Manage the underlying resources of the service delivery operation so that the usability of home audio and visual equipment can be significantly improved. Further, the resource manager of the present invention determines whether to provide a service to a specific user (for example, a user who is permitted to provide the service) by using a policy check mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a resource management process 700 in an embodiment of a home network according to the present invention. According to the present embodiment, information on each device of the home network is not presented to the user of the home network. In other words, it is not managed from the viewpoint of the “device-centric type” of the home network for the user, but is “managed by the content” of the network for the user.
Or, it is managed from a “service-centric” perspective. The user does not directly control each device to achieve the desired purpose. The user requests that the "service" be performed by the home network. Such requests may be granted or denied depending on the user's identity, associated access policies, and resource availability.

As shown in FIG. 7, in step 710, the resource manager of the present embodiment receives a service request from a user. For example, the service request may be “playing movie M in the living room”. In this embodiment, the user may specify a place where the service is desired to be supplied. If the location is not specified by the user, the location where the service is desired can be inferred from the location where the service request was made.

In step 720, the resource manager of the present embodiment determines the identity of the user making the service request. In this embodiment, the user authentication process (e.g., "
By having the user perform a "login" process, the identity of the user can be ascertained. The present invention can use any of the known user authentication processes.

In step 730, the resource manager of the present embodiment checks a pre-programmed database of predetermined policy statements, and in step 740 determines whether the service request violates any of the policy statements. . The policy statement is, for example, "User A can only watch movies with a G rating." Therefore, here
For example, if the movie M is an "R-rated" movie, when the user A makes a request, the policy statement is violated.

Also, in step 735, the resource manager of the present embodiment checks the user activity record to determine whether there is a policy statement violation. For example, if the policy is "User X may watch television Y hours a day"
And In this example, the resource manager of the present embodiment accesses the user activity record to determine whether user X has watched television for more than Y hours on that day.

If the resource manager determines that the service request violates one or more policy statements, the resource manager rejects the request at step 770 and notifies the user that the requested service is not allowed.

If it is determined in step 750 that the requested service does not violate any of the policy statements, the resource manager determines whether the resources required to provide the requested service are available. Check. For example, if a DVD player is needed to perform the requested service, the resource manager checks whether the DVD player is in use.

In step 755, the resource manager determines whether resources necessary to perform the requested service are available. In this embodiment, the network bandwidth is a resource that can be considered here.

If it is determined in step 760 that the resource is available, the resource manager sends appropriate control signals to the device (or device proxy) to perform the requested service.

If it is determined in step 770 that some or all resources are already in use, the resource manager rejects the request and notifies the user that the requested service is not available. Note that if the incoming request has a higher priority than the request currently occupying the resource, the resource manager acknowledges the higher priority request and allows the lower priority request to provide the currently provided service. finish.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the resource manager of the present invention performs additional functions different from the functions specifically requested by the user. For example, suppose that the resource manager determines that a movie can be best viewed when the surround sound effect is turned on for the movie. Such preference information is stored as content metadata. Upon detecting such information, the resource manager of the present invention automatically turns on the surround sound effects of the output device at the location where the service is performed.

As shown, at step 810, the resource manager receives a service request from a user. For example, the service request may be "playing movie M in the living room".

In step 820, the resource manager of the present embodiment determines the identity of the requesting user. In this embodiment, the identity of the user can be ascertained by having the user perform a user authentication process (eg, a “log-in” process) before allowing the user to request the selected service. Since the user authentication process is already well known in the art, a detailed description is omitted here so as not to obscure the features of the present invention. The resource manager also retrieves preference information associated with the user.

In step 830, the resource manager of the present embodiment determines whether the service request violates any policy statement and
Determine whether the required resources are available. If it is determined that the requested service is not allowed and / or unavailable, in step 835 the resource manager refuses to provide the service to the user and the process 800 ends.

If it is determined in step 840 that the requested service is permitted and available, the resource manager of the present embodiment retrieves metadata associated with the content of the requested service. Examples of movie metadata include rating information and the identity of the movie director. Further, the metadata may include information on the optimal device structure of the content. For example, the metadata of the movie may indicate that the best viewing is possible when the surround sound effect is turned on.

In step 850, the resource manager of the present embodiment configures each device of the network according to the metadata related to the requested service. Step 850 includes sending an appropriate control signal to each device (or device proxy) in the home network. Taking a football game as an example for screen splitting, the resource manager may project the football game in split screen mode, i.e., using the camera image screen to capture the quarterback and the camera image screen to capture the receiver. To set the television receiver.

In step 860, the resource manager of the present invention performs a process of providing the requested service to the user, including sending appropriate control signals to each device (or device proxy) in the home network. Thereafter, the process 800
Ends.

A. Policy Checking According to one embodiment of the present invention, the resource manager of the present invention may refuse to provide a requested service to a user even if resources are available. That is, the resource manager of the present embodiment can be pre-programmed with a “policy statement” that defines the conditions provided to a certain “service” to a certain user. As the “policy statement”, for example, “user X
Can watch TV for Y hours a day. " In this example, after user X has revealed his identity to the home network and requested "services" including "watching television," the resource manager of the present embodiment:
Before performing the requested “service”, it is confirmed whether or not the user's television viewing time limit of 2 hours a day has been exceeded. If the time limit is exceeded, the resource manager enforces the policy by denying the user access to the television. As another example, if the content airs in different presentations,
Some presentations have different ratings (eg, PG-13, R, etc.). Also, the resource manager of the present invention may allow or disallow different presentations of the same content.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the home server of the present invention keeps track of user activity via the logging manager. By keeping an accurate record of user activity, resource managers can apply more complex policy statements. For example, to enable the policy statement "User X may watch television programs for Y hours per day", user X's daily activity must be monitored. In this embodiment, the logging manager keeps a record of the user activity. The resource manager accesses the record via the logging manager to determine whether a time limit has been reached to enforce the policy. If the time limit has been reached, the resource manager enforces the policy by rejecting or stopping user X from providing television programs.

As another example, assume that the policy statement is “User Z can spend only $ 500 a month online shopping”. In this example, each time the user Z spends money for purchasing a product via the online shopping network, the amount spent is recorded by the logging manager. Further, each time user Z requests access to the online shopping network, the resource manager determines whether a predetermined limit has been used. If the predetermined limit has not been used, the resource manager permits user Z to access the online shopping network via the home network to provide the requested service. On the other hand, if the predetermined limit has been reached, the resource manager denies user Z access to the online shopping network and implements the policy statement.

B. Resource Confirmation According to one embodiment of the present invention, the resource manager of the present invention manages "soft" resources in addition to "hard" resources. For simplicity, in the following description, "hard" resources will be referred to as home network electronics or hardware. On the other hand, “soft” resources are resources that are not “hard” resources. Examples of “soft” resources include the purchase of a product on a particular broadcast program, a television channel, a memory address space, a segment of a VTR tape containing a movie or television program, a home shopping web page, or a home shopping web page. There are credits, interactive games, etc. that can be used. Other examples of "soft" resources include various camera shots of the content being broadcast. This may include various audio channels or metadata. The definition of a "soft" resource here is broad. The resource manager of this embodiment can manage both hard resources and soft resources.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the resource manager of the present invention treats network bandwidth as “soft” resources. A specific process of the resource manager of this embodiment, called a path manager, is executed via the A / V via the home network.
Route the stream from the sending device to the display. The network bandwidth is treated as a soft resource by the resource manager of the present embodiment because the network bandwidth is limited. Therefore, when the required network bandwidth is unavailable, the resource manager of the present embodiment refuses to provide the service.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the resource manager of the present invention determines that a service request does not violate any of the policy statements, the resource manager required to provide such a service is required. It must be determined whether resources or soft resources are available. This is done through the use of resource pools. In this embodiment, when a resource is used, the resource is removed from the resource pool. When the service is completed (or stopped by the user), the removed resources are returned to the resource pool. If resources become unavailable, they are removed from the resource pool. For example, when a television is unplugged, television resources are removed from the resource pool.

An example showing the function of the resource pool will be described below. Consider the case where user Z requests a service to watch a movie in the living room and that movie is recorded on a DVD in a DVD jukebox. If the resource manager determines that such a request does not violate any of the policy statements, it causes the DVD jukebox device (hard resource) to be removed from the resource pool. The DVD on which the movie is recorded is also removed from the resource pool. The network bandwidth is D
Some network bandwidth is also removed from the resource pool, as required to provide movie services from the VD jukebox to the living room television. Thus, while the movie is playing, other users cannot obtain services that require some or all of the resources currently in use. For example, suppose that user X has requested to view an animation stored in the same DVD jukebox that houses a movie DVD. Since the DVD jukebox is no longer in the resource pool, the resource manager notifies user X that the animation service is unavailable. However, as an exception, if user X has higher access privileges than user Z, service is provided to user X and any services currently provided to user Z are terminated.

IV. FIG. 3 is a logical block diagram showing a software process of the home server 214 according to the present invention. As illustrated, the software process of the home server 214 includes a user application 310, a resource manager 320, a path database 330, and a resource pool 340. Further, the software process of the home server 214 includes a reservation database 350 and a usage log 36.
It has 0. Importantly, the home server 214 also has a database 355 for storing policy statements. Further, the home server 214 has a plurality of software device proxies 370a to 370i that control respective devices of the entertainment network 200, respectively. For example, the software device proxy 370c is the television receiver 211
c, and the device proxy 370i is for controlling the VTR 212, and these are connected to the IEEE 1394 bus interface 380. In one embodiment of the present invention, the software device proxy 370 may include a HAVI device control module (DCM) and a function control module (FCM).

That is, according to the present invention, the user interface or user application 310 cannot communicate directly with the software device proxy 370. Instead, the user application 310 communicates the services desired by the user to the resource manager 320. In particular, user application 310 receives a service request from a user or other entity and sends the request to resource manager 320.

In this embodiment, the resource manager 320 of FIG. 3 determines whether the service request violates any of the policy statements stored in the policy database 355. Thereafter, the resource manager 320 determines the availability of the sending device and the receiving device and checks whether sufficient bandwidth is available to perform the requested operation. If there is no policy statement violation and both devices and bandwidth are available, the resource manager 320
Sends a "permission" signal to the user application 310 and sends necessary control commands to the software device proxies 370a to 370i. The software device proxies 370a to 370i control each device via the IEEE 1394 bus interface 380. If the device or bandwidth is unavailable or violates one or more policy statements, the resource manager 320 returns a "deny" signal to the user application 310.

According to the present invention, the resources of the home network 200 can be returned or lent by the resource manager 320 regardless of the request of the application. At any time, the resource manager 320 can collect the borrowed resources and assign them to other users. Similarly, reserved resources can be reclaimed and assigned to other users or returned to the resource pool 340.

According to the present invention, the resource manager 320 of FIG. 3 scans the home network 200 during initialization of the home server 214 to determine all available resources. Then, data representing the routing path and the bandwidth thereof are stored in the path database 330. In addition, data representing usable devices is stored in the resource pool 340. When the resources of the home network 200 change, the resource manager 320 changes the path database 330 and changes the resource pool accordingly.

The user application 310 can also send a request that the media service be provided at some point in the future. In the present embodiment, the request is in the form of a scheduled event list. In particular, the scheduled event list indicates the time at which the scheduled event is performed, and information on necessary routing paths and devices. Resource manager 320
Receives the scheduled event list, checks the reservation database 350 and determines whether the device or the routing path has already been reserved by another process. If not, the resource manager 320 enters the device and routing path into the reservation database 350. The resource manager 320 accesses a scheduler (not shown) and schedules execution of the scheduled event list.

The usage log 360 in FIG. 3 stores usage information of the network. According to the present invention, each time a media service request is granted, an event list is stored in the usage log 360. Using the usage information, the warranty information of each device can be tracked. In addition, the network usage of each user can be tracked using the usage information. Further, the resource manager 320 uses the usage amount information,
It is also possible to restrict access to users who have exceeded the usage limit.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the resource manager 320 is initialized before starting the home server 214. During initialization, the resource manager 32
0 inquires of the home network about available resources, "use rights" of each resource, and related policies. When a new resource is added or removed from the home network, the resource database (or resource pool) 340 is updated. The way the resource manager 320 finds new resources is through the system registry or system event process. A registry or system event process can provide resource information and other information to the resource manager.

FIG. 4 is a logical block diagram 400 illustrating one embodiment of the data flow between the user application 310 and the resource manager 320 according to the present invention. Also shown are data paths between the resource manager 320 and the reservation database 350, resource pool 330, path database 340, policy database 355, usage log 360, and device proxy 370. Resource manager 320
Stores device usage information in the usage log 360. The resource manager 320 also sends UsageInfo (usage information) to the user application 310 when prompted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating each step of the network resource management process 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 500 is described in conjunction with FIG. As shown, in step 510, the resource manager 320
ExecuteNowEvent from the user application 310 (execute the event immediately)
Receive the request. According to this embodiment, the ExecuteNowEvent request consists of the identity of the user making the service request and information about the requested action. Further, the ExecuteNowEvent request includes a sending device (SourceID) and a receiving device (D
estID) and information such as a routing path (PathID) between the sending device and the receiving device.

In step 515 of FIG. 5, the resource manager 320 executes the ExecuteNowEv
Upon receiving the ent request, the policy database 355 is examined to determine whether the service request violates any policy statement.

If it is determined that the policy statement has been violated, the process proceeds to step 560 where the resource manager 320 of the present invention rejects the service request.

However, if it is determined that there is no violation of the policy statement, step 52
At 0, the resource manager of this embodiment checks the resource pool 330 and
It is determined whether the requested sending device and receiving device are available. According to the present invention, the resource pool 330 is a list of all devices connected to the network, and is configured when the home server 210 is initialized. In addition, the resource pool 330 is continuously updated to track the addition and removal of devices from the entertainment network 200. If the sending device and the receiving device are already in use by another user or another user application, a “reject” signal is returned to the user application 310 at step 560.

In step 530, the resource manager 320
Check 0 to determine if there is sufficient bandwidth between the sending device and the receiving device. In this embodiment, the path database 340 is a table indicating the required bandwidth for all possible routing paths between the devices. Methods for calculating and determining the required bandwidth for all possible routing paths between devices are well known in the art, and will not be described herein to avoid obscuring features of the present invention. . If the resource manager 320 determines that the available bandwidth is insufficient, the resource manager 320 returns a “deny” signal to the user application 310 at step 560. If the requested resource is available, the resource manager 320 proceeds to step 5
At 40, a control signal is sent to the device proxy 370 to immediately perform the media service.
A "permission" signal is returned to 10. Further, in step 540, the sending device and the receiving device are removed from resource pool 330, and the path database is updated to reflect the bandwidth usage.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a network resource reservation process 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 600 is also described in conjunction with FIG. As shown, at step 610, the resource manager 320 receives a ScheduledEvent request from the user application 310. According to the invention, the ScheduledEvent request comprises the identity of the user making the media service request, the start time (StartTime) and end time (EndTime) of the scheduled event, and information about the requested operation. In addition, ScheduledEvent
The request may include information such as a sending device (SourceID), a receiving device (DestID), and a routing path between the sending device and the receiving device.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the ScheduledEvent request is an ExecuteWallClockEven
The request consists of two types of requests: t (execute wall clock event) and ExecuteCalendarEvent (execute calendar event). ExecuteWallClockEvent request is 24
This is for scheduling the execution of the request based on a time clock. ExecuteCalendarE
The vent request is for scheduling the execution of the request based on a calendar. For example, the ExecuteWallClockEvent request is used to schedule recording of “Evening News” at 6:00 in the evening every day. Also, as another example, ExecuteCalenda
The rEvent request is used to schedule a home computer system backup every Sunday.

In step 615 of FIG. 6, the resource manager 320
Upon receiving the nt request, the policy database 355 is checked to determine whether the service request violates any of the policy statements.

If it is determined that the policy statement has been violated, the process proceeds to step 660 where the resource manager 320 of the present invention rejects the service request.

In step 620, the resource manager 320 requests the reservation database 35
A check is made to determine whether the requested sending device and receiving device are available. If the sending device and the receiving device have already been reserved by another user or another user application, an “unavailable” signal is returned to the user application 310 at step 660.

In step 630, the resource manager 320
A 0 is checked to determine if the bandwidth of the routing path between the sending device and the receiving device is affected by other reservations during the requested time period. If the resource manager 320 determines that the routing path is affected, then at step 660, the resource manager 320
Return a "failure" signal to 0. If the resource manager 320 determines that the routing path is not affected, the resource manager 320
Step 50 stores SourceID, DestID, PathID, StartTime, EndTime in 50
At 0, a "reserved" signal is returned to the user application 310.

V. Further Features of the Resource Manager of the Present Invention Enhancing Services Based on User Profile or Preferences In one embodiment of the present invention, the resource manager of the present invention does not provide "services" until a user can register with the home server system. According to this embodiment, the home server is an access control manager (ACM) that operates as a gatekeeper to limit the use of the home network to authorized users.
May be provided. An access control manager (ACM) is similar to an authentication software process or procedure in a multi-user computer system. Once the user has permission to access the home network and its resources, the resource manager of the present invention can determine the user's identity or preference.

When a user requests a service and the request is granted, the resource manager automatically configures each device of the network that performs the requested service to suit the user's preferences. The resource manager may use a device proxy (eg, DCM
/ FCM) to construct each device. For example, if a user presets a preferred brightness value on a television and logs and sends a request to watch the television at a certain location, the resource manager automatically sets the television brightness at that particular location to the desired value. To adjust. This feature of the present invention greatly enhances the ease of use of the home network, and allows all devices in the home network to be easily customized for a large number of users.

Other software processes of the home server 214 (eg, an access control manager (ACM), a media binding agent (MBA)) can be used with the resource manager 320 to enforce the access policy. For example, the ACM provides user information (eg, age of the user) to the resource manager 320, and the MBA provides meta information (eg, rating information) of the content of the requested media service to the resource manager 320.

B. Another function of the resource manager 320 is to resolve conflicts in the network. If a higher priority user wants to access services from a single threaded device in use by another lower priority user, the resource manager 320 attempts to resolve the conflict. Resource Manager 3
20 sends a message indicating that the (source / destination) device is busy and asks the high priority user if they want to override the current service. The low priority user is sent a message indicating that the service will be terminated. When resources are available, lower priority users are free to reschedule the service. As long as the resources are limited and there are a plurality of service requests, only the service requests with higher priority are serviced. When a plurality of services having the same priority request the same single-thread device, a corresponding policy is adopted on a first-come, first-served basis.

C. Resource Locking Another feature of the resource manager 320 is to lock resources so that lower priority users cannot access services or resources.
For example, in a certain home, a parent is prevented from playing a certain genre of music at home, or is prevented from watching television during a time period from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. This feature allows parents to assign services to children based on time frames. For example, a child may watch television 10 hours a week. The child has the freedom to spend the 10 hours in the way he likes. After 10 hours have been used, no television time is allowed thereafter. In addition, the parent can restrict the viewing time of 10 hours by prohibiting viewing of a specific channel or prohibiting viewing of a specific time zone.

D. Attribute Control Another feature of the resource manager 320 is that it controls specific attributes of the resource device when the service is started. An example of this feature is adjusting the volume control for the genre of music (eg, rap, rock, etc.). This can be done for a specific location in the home, or for all locations. If the children's room is the destination for "rap" music and the resource manager 320 has already configured the children's room for volume control, the volume control will be adjusted when the rap music is played in that room . With such volume control, the parent can prevent the bass sound from reverberating throughout the house. The resource manager 320 performs this function by detecting the service category of the children's room and adjusting the volume control of the receiving device.

The attribute control function of the resource manager 320 may be used to supplement services. For example, if the user is watching a horror movie in the living room, the resource manager 320 may draw a curtain and dimming the light during the movie (provided that the curtain control and the light control are connected to the home network 200). If you have). As another example, if a phone ring is detected in the room where the movie is currently being viewed, the resource manager 320 pauses the movie and turns on the lights.

VI. Request Event Manager (REM) and Service Request List (SRL) Today, middleware infrastructure (ie, HAVI, Ji
ni, UP & P, VHN, etc.). However, when synchronizing various network activities between interconnected disparate home electronic devices over time, no such middleware solution can provide a home network application. For example, an application tunes a cable set-top box (STB) to channel 12 every day at 4:59 pm and every day at 5:00 pm
At 6:05 pm, rewind the tape from the VTR at 6:05 pm, remove the tape from the VTR at 6:10 pm, turn off the VTR at 6:15 pm daily, 9: 00 am If you want to forward all phone calls during 4:00 pm, your application must create complex logic to perform these functions. When a user changes an appointment, the application logic must be changed to reflect the user's needs. This complicates the application and limits the flexibility of the home network application. In addition, the home network application needs to know all the specific APIs (application programming interfaces) and the dependencies of each consumer electronic device on the home network before scheduling and executing any services. is there. If a new home electronic device of a different type is installed on the network and the home electronic device has the same or the same characteristics as the existing devices of the network, the application must be rebuilt. Therefore, a database of services is needed not only to logically group the services of the network and to schedule the execution of the services for a long time, but also to retrieve the methods and characteristics from the interconnected consumer electronics. .

According to the present invention, the database of home network services is configured by including in the logical subclass the scheme of interconnected consumer electronics and extracting advanced and unique services to user preferences. Can be. Similarly, there is a need for a means that allows the service to be scheduled for a long time.
A utility that performs these functions is called a Request Execution Manager (REM) and logically associates database services from various components with unique services that meet the needs of the user. The REM also provides a means for associating a service with a service request list (aka event list or SRL) that details the service operation. Furthermore, the REM provides a scheduler for executing each operation (event) over a long period of time. Thus, the home network application need only query the REM database and issue a service request to be performed at a desired time (either absolute or relative time).

The provision of services listed in the REM database is not necessarily from one device or source, but relates to the capabilities of the entire consumer electronics device in the home network. For example, if certain audio and video content is played on a television, the video may be stored on one or more devices (ie, a hard disk device, a D
VD, etc.), but the audio signal may come from a completely different source device. To the user, the audio / video (A / V) signal appears to be coming from the same source. Thus, the application may not even know that the home network has multiple video sources with audio and video content. All the application knows is that the serving of content comes from the REM service database. This feature is achieved by constructing a service request list (SRL) that refines the sending and receiving devices along with control and timing information. SR
L determines how to play the content and possible special playback functions (ie,
Video fade, scroll, overlay, etc.). For example, if a two-hour video clip is specified as the source material, an SRL that plays only the 20-minute video specified as significant can be configured. The SRL is configured so that only significant segments are viewed and the remaining video segments are skipped.

FIG. 9 shows a logical diagram 900 of a two-hour video clip 910 shown as an example. As shown, video clips 910 are respectively video clips 910
Four segments 920a-9 designated as significant corresponding to the
20d. Also shown is an SRL 930 that describes how the video clip 910 should be played so that only the appropriate segments are played.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the SRL has a great deal of detailed information about the sending device and the receiving device. Also, information about how and when to play the video may be included in the SRL. Also, the SRL may include routing information that enables routing of the source to the receiving device. HAVI
If a network is used, the stream manager performs this function. SRL
If has all the necessary information, skip to the beginning of the significant video segment, play to the end of the significant segment, and repeat this process until all of the significant segments have been played.

Alternatively, the application may need to know available program selections (ie, movies, EPGs, etc.) that can be recorded and viewed at a later determined time. In this case, the application executes the RE for providing the A / V content.
An inquiry is made to the M database to determine the content to be viewed. All service offerings can be scheduled at any time. This is a calendar date,
Any of a series of dates and times, relative dates and times, and absolute dates and times may be used.

Once the application has determined the services it needs, it can create an SRL using the REM's APL call. REM provides a way for applications to configure, delete, and modify service request lists. The application may also choose to save the SRL in an archive for later reference. The SRLs may be logically linked to allow for the creation of more complex lists. To further increase flexibility, individual SRLs can be modified throughout their lifetime.

As a simple example, it is conceivable that “Sesame Street” is recorded every day from 9:00 am to 10:00 am so that the program can be viewed at any time. That is, it is conceivable to set a tuner or a recording device and store the content in the archive of the storage device. Once a program has been archived, it must be made available to the application. If the content is viewable, the storage device must be accessed to route the video stream to the display device. The control and management of all these devices, the routing of data, and the scheduling of each device to perform its function at a particular time are burdensome. However, REM is designed to handle these operations with minimal commands.
REM isolates the device interface from the application and provides an advanced way to control content rather than equipment. The application may configure the SRL by querying the REM service database. For example, "Sesame Street" is stored in an archive every day and the program is made available as a dynamically accessible content selection. At the end of this operation, the REM creates a complex "event list" that has all the details to control the equipment, routing information, and timing sequence of the network.
The “event list” is given an “event name” held by the REM and made available to the application. The application can refer to the SRL by the event name and change its characteristics at any time.

The SRL is a hierarchical data structure having an “event name” at the top and specific commands of all devices necessary for performing a desired service at the bottom. In the case of a HAVI network, subordinate to the SRL (ie, unit level,
Alternatively, if the list extends beyond the unit level, the sub-unit level) provides an interface to the HAVI DCM / FCM. SRL
Each level has timing information and attribute information. For example, if a set-top box (STB) is set up for an operation, the REM assigns a setup execution time. At the unit level, REM assigns individual times for each operation of the setup sequence. The event list is logically layered according to the complexity of the service and the number of resources required to perform the service.

The top of the SRL (Event List) structure is called the service level. This level has a handle for accessing the request list and description information in addition to the timing information. The level below it in the SRL is called the component level. At this level, higher-level commands can be issued to individual component devices. Also, at this level, a specific operation can be performed by linking different types of constituent devices. At the unit level, commands for individual components (ie, power on, fast forward, seek, etc.) are issued. At the subunit level, more detailed commands are defined. For example, a consumer electronics device must be designated before the power can be turned on for a certain channel. You must poll the device to make sure it is online.
This is all done at the subunit level. These lower commands may be AV / C commands sent to the device. For example, the AV / C command is set in a device that issues a specific power-on command. When this is done, the REM waits for the device to respond with a status message (success or unsuccess). S
In some cases, the RL data structure is more complex and extends to multiple layers. This all depends on the level of complexity of each device and what action is required.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
, AV-HDD, and a part of the hierarchical structure of the SRL 1000 for grouping the logging database. As shown, SRL 1000 has four different levels. That is, service level 1010, component level 1020
, A unit level 1030 and a sub-unit level 1040. In the illustrated embodiment, at service level 1010, SRL 1000 has a service level command 1012 "Save Sesame Street in archive". At component level 1020, service level command 1012 is associated with five component level commands 1022a-102e.
The component level command is directed to a component of a home network necessary for performing a service. For example, the command 1022a is S
The command 1022b is directed to the AV-HDD,
22d is directed to a logging database, and so on. The component level commands 1022a to 1022e are each associated with a unit level command. For example, in the illustrated example, the component level command 1022a is:
It is associated with unit level commands 1032a to 1032c specific to the STB. The unit level commands 1032a to 1032c are respectively associated with subunit level commands (eg, commands 1042a to 1042c). In the illustrated example, the subunit level commands 1042a to 1042c are
Control the subunits.

At each level in the SRL, timing information must be specified.
This information is maintained by the REM scheduler and allows applications, REMs,
Changes can be made to reflect specific situations defined by other components (ie, the HAVI device control module). The time can be measured by the date and time of the calendar or the 24-hour wall clock time. For example, each time January 1, the REM can be scheduled to perform an operation. As another example, the REM may be scheduled to perform a certain event every Monday to Friday at 5:00 pm. REM defines each event as occurring once, repeatedly, or at predetermined intervals determined by the application. Time can also be related to the start or end time of other events. This is called an automatic follow-up (auto-follow) event. For example, after a power-on event occurs, a rewind event can occur 30 seconds after the power-on event, and after a power-off event occurs, a message event can be sent to the application. Thus, the rewind event is determined by the occurrence of a power-on event, and the message event is determined by the occurrence of a power-off event.

In other words, the REM forms part of a middleware framework in a home / office system or network for providing audio / video presentations and other content. REM connects small, simple events to large, complex events, or integrates hierarchically. Also,
The REM executes the event. The REM also manages the event list data structure / database. It also provides read and write access to the event list to application level and other components within the framework level.

The key points of the REM and the advantages of these features are summarized below.

1. Device Independence The REM treats each event the same, regardless of what device each event is associated with. Equipment is not limited, but includes heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
System, audio / video equipment, internet or cable service interface, etc. This makes it possible to construct a complex event that neatly packages or encapsulates small events in different types of devices.

[0092] 2. Scheduling Flexibility Events can be scheduled at absolute times or relative times relative to the time at which they are scheduled. This schedule can be performed based on time, time and day of the week, time and a specific date, and the like. The schedule may be an automatic tracking time, that is, an event that automatically follows after the end of a certain event. Scheduling can also be based on asynchronous, unpredictable events. For example, if the phone rings, turn on the lights in the room, mute the movie, and answer the phone.

[0093] 3. The hierarchical event list represents a set of sub-events. A sub-event may be an event defined as an event list, or may be a “primitive” operation performed by a device in the system or network. There is no limit on the degree of nesting of events and sub-events, and any event can have other events as one of its sub-events.

The advantage of this is that as the system becomes more complex, the event structure automatically becomes flexible and can accommodate the complexity.
This applies both to the complexity of individual devices and to the complexity of systems or networks that can potentially have an unlimited number of devices.

Another advantage is that the events represent the integration of sub-events in disparate devices. For example, a home control function can be linked to an audio / video function. That is, when the doorbell rings, the output of the surveillance camera is displayed on the operating television receiver.

[0096] Yet another advantage is that the user can schedule events that are important to him. For example, what the user wants to consider as a “recording” event can obscure or contain the complexity of a series of subordinate events. That is, turn on the power of the recording device, confirm that the tape / disk is mounted on the recording device, rewind the tape or position the disk, and set the recording parameters (for example, the SP mode of the video tape). And record.

Yet another advantage is that events are controlled centrally. Users, application programs, and other middleware functions can access the current set of active and scheduled events in a consistent manner, regardless of the supported devices.

[0098] 4. Concurrency and Continuity in Events An event list can represent both a series of events that start in a predetermined order in the list, and events of a multithread set that occur simultaneously. Also, one event can be a combination of these two types of sets via a hierarchical structure.

When an event representing a series of consecutive events is started, its first sub-event starts, and when it ends, the second sub-event starts and so on.
On the other hand, when an event representing a set of simultaneous sub-events is started, each of the sub-events is scheduled to start indefinitely, simultaneously, or in parallel.

An advantage of this is that as the supported devices become more complex, the event structure automatically becomes flexible and can cope with the complexity of the devices. Another advantage is that the user can operate on an upper event that is important to him / her.

[0101] 5. Synchronization between events In a typical system or network, multiple events are active at the same time. The advantage of this is that as the system becomes more complex, the same event handling, scheduling and control functions are applied.

6. Support and synergy for other functions REM provides support and synergy for other middleware / framework functions. The REM also provides support and synergy for application functions.

The present invention has been described above, that is, the resource management process by the computer in the entertainment network. By providing a centralized resource assignment and access control system, the security of the entertainment network can be achieved. Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to such embodiments, but is to be construed in accordance with the following claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing components of a home server according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an entertainment network in which an embodiment of the present invention can be performed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a software process of the home server shown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data flow for explaining a communication protocol between the user application and the software resource manager shown in FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a network resource management process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a network resource reservation process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a resource management process in a home network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of configuring each device of a home network using meta information according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a logic diagram illustrating an example of a two-hour video clip and a service request list that describes how the video clip is played, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a part of a hierarchical structure of an example of a service request list according to an embodiment of the present invention.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (81) Designated country EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE ), OA (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, KE, LS, MW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR , HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW [Continuation of summary] is performed.

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A step of: (a) identifying contents and communicating a service designation request other than a device designation to a network server; and (b) sending the service designation request to a plurality of home electronic devices. (C) determining whether the network resources required to make the service request are available; and (d) sending the device-specific command to each of the devices. Selectively transmitting to cause each of the plurality of consumer electronic devices to make the service request. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method is a method of operating a plurality of home electronic devices connected to each other to form a network. 3. The method is enabled via a plurality of consumer electronic devices and can be used by a computer incorporating computer readable program code for causing a computer system to perform a method for managing resources in a network. The method of claim 1, wherein the media comprises the plurality of consumer electronic devices. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the service designation request indicates an identity of a user who issues the service request. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the service designation request indicates content information that the user wants to access. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the service designation request indicates a place where the user wants to receive the content information. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step (c) further comprises a step (c1) of identifying a sending device and a receiving device of said network necessary for making said service request. Item 4. The method according to item 1, 2 or 3. 8. The step (c) of determining whether the routing path between the sending device and the receiving device has sufficient bandwidth to make the service request. 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising returning a failure message if the routing path does not have sufficient bandwidth to make the service request. The method described in the section. 10. The method, comprising: constructing a list having a plurality of entries corresponding to a plurality of routing paths connecting home electronic media devices of the network; and a bandwidth of the routing paths of the network. 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of determining performance and generating data representing the performance.
The method described in the section. 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: constructing a list having a plurality of entries corresponding to each of the plurality of home electronic media devices; and disabling one of the plurality of home electronic media devices. When it becomes
Removing a corresponding one of the entries from the list; and when one of the plurality of home electronic media devices becomes available,
9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of adding a new entry to said list. 12. A home server connected to control a network of household electronic devices, comprising: (a) means for identifying contents and receiving a service designation request other than a device designation from a user of the network; (B) means for converting the service designation request into a device designation command for the plurality of home electronic devices; and (c) whether network resources necessary for making the service request are available. (D) selectively transmitting the device designation command to each device to cause each of the plurality of home electronic devices to make the service request. Home server. 13. The home server according to claim 12, wherein the service request indicates the identity of the user. 14. The home server according to claim 13, wherein the service designation request indicates content information that the user wants to access. 15. The home server according to claim 14, wherein the service designation request indicates a place where the user wants to receive the content information. 16. The home according to claim 12, wherein said judging means further comprises means for identifying a sending device and a receiving device of said network necessary for making said service request. server. 17. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for determining whether a routing path between the sending device and the receiving device has sufficient bandwidth to make the service request. 17. The home server according to claim 16, wherein: 18. The home according to claim 17, further comprising means for returning a failure message if said routing path does not have sufficient bandwidth to make said service request. server. 19. A means for constructing a list having a plurality of entries corresponding to a plurality of routing paths connecting home electronic media devices of the network, and determining a bandwidth performance of the routing path of the network. 18. The home server according to claim 17, further comprising means for generating data representing the data. 20. A means for constructing a list having a plurality of entries corresponding to each of the plurality of home electronic media devices, and when one of the plurality of home electronic media devices becomes unavailable.
Means for removing a corresponding one of said entries from said list; and when one of said plurality of home electronic media devices becomes available,
20. The home server according to claim 19, further comprising means for adding a new entry to said list.