JP2011215928A - Content distribution system, information management server and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize multiplicity of the content in respect to a content distribution system, an information management server and a program.SOLUTION: An information providing server 10 transmits server ID (Identifier) to a terminal 30 in response to a request from the terminal 30. The information providing server 10 transmits the number of acquisition requests in each divided file to a management server 20 in response to a request from the management server 20. The management server 20 arranges the divided file in a data server 40 based on the number of acquisition requests in each divided file which is acquired from the information providing server 10. The terminal 30 acquires the server ID from the information providing server 10, acquires the divided file from the data server 40 corresponding to the server ID and reproduces the acquired divided file.

Description

  The present invention relates to a content distribution system, an information management server, and a program for distributing content.

  In order to distribute the load on a distribution server that distributes moving image files, it is known to store and multiplex moving image files on a plurality of distribution servers.

  However, since multiplexing is performed in units of moving image files, there is a problem that the hardware resources of the distribution server cannot be used effectively.

  In order to solve such inconvenience, a technique has been proposed in which one file is divided into a plurality of files, and the divided files are stored in a plurality of servers and multiplexed (for example, Patent Document 1). According to this, multiplexing can be performed in units of divided files.

JP 2000-207370 A

  Even if the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to a moving image file, when an unpopular moving image file is multiplexed in the same manner as a popular moving image file, the hardware resources of the distribution server are effectively used. I can't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to automatically optimize the multiplexing of moving image files.

In order to achieve the above object, a content distribution system according to the first aspect of the present invention provides:
A content distribution system comprising an information management server, a terminal, and a plurality of data servers for storing content,
The information management server
In response to a request from the terminal, server ID transmitting means for transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting means for counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of requests for acquiring the content from the terminal for each content;
Content multiplexing means for storing the content in the data servers based on the number of acquisition requests for each content counted by the acquisition request counting means,
The terminal
Server ID receiving means for requesting the information management server to obtain a server ID of a data server storing content, and receiving the server ID related to the request from the information management server;
Content receiving means for requesting the data server corresponding to the server ID received by the server ID receiving means to acquire the content related to the request and receiving the content related to the request from the data server;
Replaying means for replaying the content received by the content receiving means,
Each of the data servers is
Content storage means for storing content;
In response to a request from the terminal, content transmitting means for transmitting the content related to the request to the requested terminal,
It is characterized by that.

In order to achieve the above object, an information management server according to the second aspect of the present invention provides:
An information management server capable of communicating with a plurality of data servers for storing content and a terminal for reproducing the content,
In response to a request from the terminal, server ID transmitting means for transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting means for counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of requests for acquiring the content from the terminal for each content;
Content multiplexing means for storing the content in each data server based on the number of acquisition requests for each content counted by the acquisition request counting means;
It is characterized by providing.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to the third aspect of the present invention provides:
A plurality of data servers for storing content and a computer for controlling an information management server capable of communicating with a terminal for reproducing the content;
In response to a request from the terminal, a server ID transmission step of transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting step of counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of times that the content has been requested from the terminal for each content;
Based on the counted number of acquisition requests for each content, a content multiplexing step for storing the content in each data server;
Is executed.

  According to the present invention, the information management server stores content in the data server based on the number of acquisition requests for each content. For this reason, the multiplicity of contents can be optimized.

1 is a block diagram of a moving image distribution system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the information provision server shown in FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the structure of a division | segmentation file management database, (b) is a figure which shows the structure of an acquisition request management database, (c) is a figure which shows the structure of a load database. It is a block diagram of the management server shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the terminal shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the data server shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the moving image file registration process of a management server. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a moving image file registration screen. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the multiplexing process of a management server. It is a flowchart following the flowchart shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a division | segmentation file immediately after multiplexing by multiplicity = 3. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the load information update process of a data server. (A), (b), (c) is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of an information provision server, a terminal, and a data server, when a terminal reproduces | regenerates a moving image. (A), (b), (c) is a figure following the sequence diagram shown to Fig.13 (a), (b), (c). It is a flowchart for demonstrating the optimization process of a management server. It is a flowchart following the flowchart shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a division | segmentation file immediately after optimizing multiplicity based on the data of the acquisition request management database shown in FIG.3 (c). 12 is a flowchart for explaining optimization processing of the management server according to the second embodiment. It is a flowchart following the flowchart shown in FIG. It is a flowchart following the flowchart shown in FIG.

(Embodiment 1)
A video distribution system 51 as a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the video distribution system 51 includes an information providing server 10, a management server 20, a plurality of terminals 30 (30 ₁ , 30 ₂ ,..., 30 _n ), and a plurality of data servers 40 ( 40 ₁ , 40 ₂ ,..., 40 _n ). These devices are connected to each other via a communication network 50 by wired communication or wireless communication. Moreover, the communication standard to be used is arbitrary.

  The information providing server 10 includes a server ID (Identifier) of the data server 40 that stores the divided file of the moving image file as the content, the number of acquisition requests for each divided file (the number of requests for acquisition from the terminal 30), and the data server 40 This is a computer device that manages (stores / updates) load information indicating a load state (for example, the number of jobs queued in an execution queue). In response to the request from the terminal 30, the information providing server 10 transmits the server ID of the data server 40 that stores the divided file related to the request to the terminal 30. Further, in response to the request from the management server 20, the information providing server 10 transmits the number of acquisition requests for each divided file to the management server 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information providing server 10 includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit 130.

  The communication unit 110 includes, for example, a MODEM, and communicates with other devices via the communication network 50 under the control of the control unit 130.

  The storage unit 120 includes, for example, a magnetic disk and the like, and includes a program storage unit 121 that stores programs executed by the control unit 130, a divided file management DB (that stores a server ID of the data server 40 that stores divided files, and the like. Database) 122, an acquisition request management DB 123 for storing the number of acquisition requests for each divided file, a load DB 124 for storing the load of the data server 40, and the like. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the divided file management DB 122 stores a file ID for identifying the divided file and a server ID of the data server 40 that stores the divided file in association with each other. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, the acquisition request management DB 123 stores the file ID of the divided file and the number of acquisition requests of the divided file corresponding to the file ID in association with each other. Further, the load DB 124 specifically, as shown in FIG. 3C, the server ID and the load information of the data server 40 corresponding to the server ID (the number of jobs queued in the execution queue). ) Are stored in association with each other.

  The control unit 130 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit of the information providing server 10 according to a program stored in the program storage unit 121.

  The management server 20 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer device that optimizes the multiplicity of divided files based on the number of acquisition requests for each divided file. The management server 20 requests the information providing server 10 to acquire the number of acquisition requests for each divided file, and receives the number of acquisition requests for each divided file from the information providing server 10. Further, the management server 20 stores the divided file in each data server 40 based on the number of acquisition requests for each divided file.

  Next, the configuration of the management server 20 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the management server 20 includes a communication unit 210, an operation unit 220, a display unit 230, a storage unit 240, and a control unit 250.

  The communication unit 210 includes, for example, a MODEM and communicates with other devices via the communication network 50 under the control of the control unit 250.

  The operation unit 220 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and transmits a signal corresponding to an instruction from the user to the control unit 250.

  The display unit 230 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device and displays a moving image file registration screen, which will be described later, under the control of the control unit 250.

  The storage unit 240 includes, for example, a magnetic disk, and includes a program storage unit 241 that stores programs executed by the control unit 250, a divided file storage unit 242 that stores divided files, and the like.

  The control unit 250 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and controls each unit of the management server 20 according to a program stored in the program storage unit 241. The control unit 250 also functions as a timer 251 according to a predetermined program.

  A terminal 30 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer device that acquires and plays a divided file from the data server 40. The terminal 30 acquires the server ID of the data server 40 that stores the divided file from the information providing server 10. Further, the terminal 30 requests the data server 40 to acquire the divided file, receives the divided file from the data server 40, and reproduces it.

  Next, the configuration of the terminal 30 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 30 includes a communication unit 310, an operation unit 320, a display unit 330, a storage unit 340, and a control unit 350. Here, the configuration of the communication unit 310, the operation unit 320, the display unit 330, and the control unit 350 is the same as that of the management server 20, except that the storage unit 340 does not include a divided file storage unit.

  The data server 40 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer device that stores divided files. In response to the request from the terminal 30, the data server 40 transmits the divided file to the terminal 30. Further, the data server 40 periodically stores and updates its own load information in the load DB 124 of the information providing server 10.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the data server 40 includes a communication unit 410, a storage unit 420, and a control unit 430. Here, the configuration of the communication unit 410, the operation unit 420, the display unit 430, and the control unit 450 is the same as that of the management server 20.

  Next, the operation of each component of the moving image distribution system 51 will be described individually. However, in order to facilitate understanding, a case where there are five data servers 40 will be described below as an example.

(Movie file registration process)
In distributing a moving image file, the moving image file needs to be registered in the management server 20. Here, in order to facilitate understanding, an operation will be described in which the management server 20 divides and registers each moving image file into five.

  The user operates the operation unit 220 to instruct registration of a moving image file. In response to this instruction, the operation unit 220 transmits a signal indicating the instruction to the control unit 250. In response to this signal, the controller 250 starts the moving image file registration process shown in FIG. 7, and first displays the moving image file registration screen shown in FIG. 8 (step S1). The control unit 250 determines whether a folder is specified on the moving image file registration screen and the OK button is pressed (step S2).

  When it is determined that the folder is specified and the OK button is pressed (step S2; Yes), the control unit 250 resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S3). The controller 250 reads the kth moving image file from the designated folder (step S4). The control unit 250 equally divides the read moving image file into five (step S5). The control unit 250 generates the file IDs of the divided files in order from the one closest to the top of the moving image file, that is, in order of reproduction, such as k_d0, k_d1,..., K_d4 (step S6).

  The control unit 250 stores the divided file obtained by the division in the divided file storage unit 242 with the file ID generated in step S6 (step S7). The controller 250 increments the index k by +1 (step S8). Thereafter, the control returns to step S4, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until k = N−1 (N: the number of moving image files stored in the designated folder).

(Multiplexing process)
Next, in order to multiplex the divided files, it is necessary to store the divided files in each data server 40. Therefore, the operation of the management server 20 will be described for the process of storing the divided file in each data server 40.

  The user operates the operation unit 220 to instruct to store the divided file in the data server 40 with, for example, multiplicity = 3. Here, the multiplicity refers to the number of data servers 40 that store the divided files. For example, when a certain divided file is stored in three data servers 40, the multiplicity of the divided files is three.

  In response to an instruction from the user, the operation unit 220 transmits a signal indicating the instruction to the control unit 250. In response to this signal, the control unit 250 starts the multiplexing process shown in FIGS. 9 to 10, and first deletes all the divided files stored in the divided file storage unit 422 of each data server 40 (step S11). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index i to 0 (step S12). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S13). The control unit 250 reads the divided file corresponding to the file ID = i_dk from the divided file storage unit 242 (step S14). The control unit 250 copies the read divided file to the divided file storage unit 422 of the data server 40 corresponding to the server ID = S (k), S (k + 1), S (k + 2) (step S15). However, S (k) is a periodic function that sequentially repeats the values of S0, S1, S2, S3, and S4. Therefore, the relationship S (k + 5) = S (k) is established.

  The control unit 250 associates the file ID with the server ID of the data server 40 that has copied the divided file corresponding to the file ID, and stores the file ID in the divided file management DB 122 (step S16). The control unit 250 increments the value of the index k by +1 (step S17). Thereafter, the control returns to step S14, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until k = 4 (step S18). When it is determined that k = 4 is satisfied (step S18; Yes), the controller 250 increments the value of the index i by +1 as shown in FIG. 10 (step S19). Thereafter, the control returns to step S13, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until i = N−1 (step S20).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that i = N−1 is satisfied (step S20; Yes), the control unit 250 ends the process. Thereby, the divided files of each moving image file are multiplexed with multiplicity = 3, and data is stored in the divided file management DB 122 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the divided files immediately after the multiplexing process are i_d0: i_d1: i_d2: i_d3: i_d4 = 1: 1: 1: 1: 1 (i = 0, 1,..., N -1) is stored in the data server 40.

(Load information update process)
In order to distribute the load of the data server 40, the information providing server 10 needs to refer to the load DB 124 and distribute the divided file acquisition request from the terminal 30 to the data server 40 with a low load. Therefore, the operation of the data server 40 will be described with respect to the processing in which the data server 40 periodically stores the load information in the load DB 124 of the information providing server 10.

  The control unit 430 executes the load information update process shown in FIG. First, the control unit 430 resets the measurement time (t) of the timer 431 to 0 and restarts the time measurement (step S21). The control unit 430 determines whether or not the measurement time (t) of the timer 431 is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (T1) (step S22). This time (T1) corresponds to a cycle in which the data server 40 transmits load information to the information providing server 10.

  When it is determined that the measurement time (t) is less than the predetermined time (T1) (step S22; No), the control unit 430 repeats step S22. On the other hand, when it is determined that the measurement time (t) is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (T1) (step S22; Yes), the control unit 430 measures its own load state (step S23). The control unit 430 reads the server ID of the own data server 40 from the storage unit 420 (step S24). The control unit 430 searches the load DB 124 of the information providing server 10 for a record including the read server ID, and updates the load information obtained by measuring the load information of the found record (step S25). Thereafter, the control returns to step S21, and the control unit 430 repeats the same process. Thereby, the load DB 124 of the information providing server 10 is periodically updated.

(Server ID request processing)
Next, the operations of the information providing server 10, the terminal 30, and the data server 40 will be described for the case where the terminal 30 reproduces a moving image file. Here, in order to facilitate understanding, an example will be described in which a moving image file that is registered first in the above-described moving image file registration process and includes divided files (file ID = 0_d0 to 0_d4) is reproduced.

  The user of the terminal 30 operates the operation unit 320 to instruct to play a moving image file. In response to this instruction, the operation unit 320 transmits a signal indicating the instruction to the control unit 350. In response to this signal, the control unit 350 starts the processes shown in FIGS. 13C to 14C, and first resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S31). The control unit 350 requests the information providing server 10 to obtain a server ID for the data server 40 that stores the divided file corresponding to the file ID = 0_dk constituting the designated moving image file (step S32).

(Server ID identification process)
In response to the request from the terminal 30, the control unit 130 of the information providing server 10 starts the processing shown in FIGS. 13A to 14A. First, the file ID = 0_dk is obtained from the acquisition request management DB 123. A record including the record is searched, and the number of acquisition requests for the found record is incremented by one and updated (step S33). The control unit 130 reads the server ID associated with the file ID = 0_dk related to the request from the terminal 30 from the divided file management DB 122 (step S34). The control unit 130 determines whether there are two or more read server IDs (step S35). When determining that there are two or more server IDs, the control unit 130 reads the load information associated with each server ID from the load DB 124 (step S36). Based on the read load information, the control unit 130 identifies the server ID of the data server 40 with the smallest load (step S37). The control unit 130 transmits the identified server ID to the terminal 30 that has requested acquisition of the server ID (step S38).

  As illustrated in FIG. 14C, the control unit 350 of the terminal 30 receives the server ID from the information providing server 10 (step S39). The control unit 350 requests the data server 40 corresponding to the received server ID to acquire a divided file corresponding to the file ID = 0_dk (step S40).

  In response to the request from the terminal 30, the control unit 430 of the data server 40 starts the processing shown in FIGS. 13B to 14B, and first, the division corresponding to the file ID = 0_dk related to the request The file is read from the divided file storage unit 422 (step S41). The control unit 430 transmits the read divided file to the terminal 30 that has requested acquisition of the divided file (step S42).

(Split file playback process)
As shown in FIG. 14C, the control unit 350 of the terminal 30 reproduces the divided file corresponding to the file ID = 0_dk while downloading it from the data server 40 by using a web browser plug-in or the like (step S43). The control unit 350 determines whether or not the user has instructed to stop reproduction (step S44). When it is determined that the stop of reproduction has been instructed (step S44; No), the control unit 350 ends the process.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the reproduction stop is not instructed (step S44; Yes), the control unit 350 increments the value of the index k by +1 (step S45). Thereafter, the control returns to step S32, and the same processing is repeated until k = 4 (step S45). Accordingly, the terminal 30 sequentially downloads and reproduces the divided files of the moving image file from the data server 40 with a low load. In addition, when the divided file of the moving image file is played back on each terminal 30, the number of divided file acquisition requests is counted up in the acquisition request management DB 123 of the information providing server 10. However, for example, when the user gives an instruction to stop playback during playback of the divided file (file ID = 0_d0), the acquisition request management DB 123 shown in FIG. 3B corresponds to the file ID = 0_d0. Only the number of acquisition requests attached is incremented by one.

(Optimization process)
When a predetermined time elapses after the distribution of the video file starts, a divided file with a high request frequency and a divided file with a low request frequency appear. Hereinafter, the operation of the management server 20 will be described for the process of optimizing the multiplicity of the divided files.

  The control unit 250 of the management server 20 repeatedly performs the optimization process shown in FIGS. First, the control unit 250 resets the measurement time (t) of the timer 251 to 0 and restarts the time measurement (step S51). The controller 250 determines whether or not the measurement time (t) of the timer 251 is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (T2) (step S52). This time (T2) corresponds to a cycle in which the management server 20 executes the optimization process.

  When it is determined that the measurement time (t) is less than the predetermined time (T2) (step S52; No), the control unit 250 repeats step S52. On the other hand, when the control unit 430 determines that the measurement time (t) is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (T2) (step S52; Yes), the divided file stored in the divided file storage unit 422 of each data server 40 Are all deleted (step S53). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index i to 0 (step S54). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S55). The control unit 250 reads the number of acquisition requests associated with the file ID = i_dk from the acquisition request management DB 123 (step S56). The control unit 250 assigns the read acquisition request count to the array r (k) (step S57). The controller 250 increments the value of the index k by +1 (step S58). Thereafter, the control returns to step S56, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until k = 4 (step S59).

  When the process of substituting the number of acquisition requests into the array r (k) is completed (step S59; Yes), the control unit 250 obtains the value of k (k1) that maximizes the number of acquisition requests r (k) ( Step S60). As shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 250 resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S61). The control unit 250 reads the divided file corresponding to the file ID = i_dk from the divided file storage unit (step S62). The control unit 250 sets the read divided file to a multiplicity = INT (n * r (k) / r (k1)) (INT: a function that rounds off the decimal point and returns an integer, n: the number of data servers 40 = 5 ) To the divided file storage unit 422 of the data server 40 (step S63). Here, the control unit 250 copies the divided files in order from the data server 40 in which the number of stored divided files is small.

  Subsequently, the control unit 250 associates the file ID with the server ID of the data server 40 that has copied the divided file corresponding to the file ID, and stores the file ID in the divided file management DB 122 (step S64). The controller 250 increments the value of the index k by +1 (step S65). Thereafter, the control returns to step S62, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until k = 4 (step S66).

  When determining that k = 4 is satisfied (step S66; Yes), the controller 250 increments the value of the index i by +1 (step S67). Thereafter, the control returns to step S55, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until i = N−1 (step S68).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that i = N−1 is satisfied (step S <b> 68; Yes), the control unit 250 returns to step 51. Thereby, the multiplicity of the divided files of each moving image file is optimized. For example, when optimization processing is performed based on the data of the acquisition request management DB 123 shown in FIG. 3C, the divided files (file ID = 0_dk; k = 0, 1,..., 4) As shown in FIG. 17, the data server 40 stores 0_d0: 0_d1: 0_d2: 0_d3: 0_d4 = 10: 8: 6: 4: 2 (that is, 5: 4: 3: 2: 1).

  In this case, the arrangement state of the divided files changes from the state shown in FIG. 11 to the state shown in FIG. Accordingly, the existence ratio of the divided files is from 0_d0: 0_d1: 0_d2: 0_d3: 0_d4 = 1: 1: 1: 1: 1 to 0_d0: 0_d1: 0_d2: 0_d3: 0_d4 = 5: 4: 3: 2: Transition to 1.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the multiplicity of the divided files of the moving image file is optimized based on the number of acquisition requests. For this reason, it is possible to distribute the load of the data server 40 that stores the divided files having a large number of acquisition requests.

  In addition, since the multiplicity of the divided file with a small number of acquisition requests is small, the storage resources of each data server 40 are not wasted.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, for each moving image file, division file multiplexing is optimized based on the ratio of the number of divided file acquisition requests to the sum. In the present embodiment, a moving image distribution system 51 that can optimize the multiplicity of divided files based on the ratio of the number of acquisition requests for all divided files with respect to a plurality of moving image files will be described. Here, the configuration of the moving image distribution system 51 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the moving image distribution system 51 according to the first embodiment.

(Optimization process)
When a predetermined time elapses after the distribution of the video file starts, a divided file with a high request frequency and a divided file with a low request frequency appear. Hereinafter, the operation of the management server 20 will be described for the process of optimizing the multiplicity of the divided files.

  The control unit 250 of the management server 20 repeatedly performs the optimization process shown in FIGS. First, the control unit 250 resets the measurement time (t) of the timer 251 to 0 and restarts time measurement (step S71). The controller 250 determines whether or not the measurement time (t) of the timer 251 is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (T2) (step S72). This time (T2) corresponds to a cycle in which the management server 20 executes the optimization process.

  When determining that the measurement time (t) is less than the predetermined time (T2) (step S72; No), the control unit 250 repeats step S72. On the other hand, when the control unit 430 determines that the measurement time (t) is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (T2) (step S72; Yes), the divided file stored in the divided file storage unit 422 of each data server 40 Are all deleted (step S73). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index i to 0 (step S74). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S75). The control unit 250 reads the acquisition request count associated with the file ID = i_dk from the acquisition request management DB 123 (step S76). The control unit 250 substitutes the read acquisition request count into the array r (i, k) (step S77). The controller 250 increments the value of the index k by +1 (step S78). Thereafter, the control returns to step S76, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until k = 4 (step S79).

  As shown in FIG. 19, when it is determined that k = 4 is satisfied (step S79; Yes), the controller 250 increments the value of the index i by 1 (step S80). Thereafter, the control returns to step S75, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until i = N−1 (step S81).

  When determining that i = N−1 is satisfied (step S81; Yes), the control unit 250 obtains a set (i2, k2) of i, k that maximizes the acquisition request count r (i, k) ( Step S82). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index i to 0 (step S83). The control unit 250 resets the value of the index k to 0 (step S84). The control unit 250 reads the divided file corresponding to the file ID = i_dk from the divided file storage unit (step S85). The control unit 250 copies the read divided file to the divided file storage unit 422 of the data server 40 with multiplicity = INT (n * r (i, k) / r (i2, k2)) (step S86). Here, the control unit 250 copies the divided files in order from the data server 40 in which the number of stored divided files is small.

  Subsequently, the control unit 250 associates the file ID with the server ID of the data server 40 that has copied the divided file corresponding to the file ID, and stores the file ID in the divided file management DB 122 (step S87). The controller 250 increments the value of the index k by +1 (step S88). Thereafter, the control returns to step S85, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until k = 4 (step S89).

  When determining that k = 4 is satisfied (step S89; Yes), the controller 250 increments the value of the index i by +1 (step S90). Thereafter, the control returns to step S84, and the control unit 250 repeats the same processing until i = N−1 (step S91).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that i = N−1 is satisfied (step S91; Yes), the control unit 250 returns to step 71. Thereby, the multiplicity of the divided files of each moving image file is optimized.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, based on the ratio of the number of acquisition requests for each divided file to the total number of acquisition requests for the divided files obtained by dividing a plurality of video files, Optimize multiplicity. For this reason, the multiplicity of the divided files can be optimized according to the popularity of the divided files in a plurality of moving image files, not the popularity of the divided files in one moving image file.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, in the above description, the hardware configuration and operation sequence shown are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these, and can be changed and applied as appropriate.

  For example, in the present embodiment, each moving image file is equally divided, but may be divided at the chapter start position of the moving image file. According to this, the multiplicity of divided files can be optimized based on the number of divided file acquisition requests corresponding to chapters. For this reason, for example, it is possible to automatically set the multiplicity of the divided files of chapters corresponding to the popular talent interview to be higher than the multiplicity of other chapters.

  In this embodiment, the INT function is used to convert the multiplicity into an integer. However, any function that returns an integer may be used.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the information providing server 10 and the management server 20 are configured as separate devices, but they can be replaced by a single device.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

(Supplementary note 1) A content distribution system comprising an information management server, a terminal, and a plurality of data servers for storing content,
The information management server
In response to a request from the terminal, server ID transmitting means for transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting means for counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of requests for acquiring the content from the terminal for each content;
Content multiplexing means for storing the content in the data servers based on the number of acquisition requests for each content counted by the acquisition request counting means,
The terminal
Server ID receiving means for requesting the information management server to obtain a server ID of a data server storing content, and receiving the server ID related to the request from the information management server;
Content receiving means for requesting the data server corresponding to the server ID received by the server ID receiving means to acquire the content related to the request and receiving the content related to the request from the data server;
Replaying means for replaying the content received by the content receiving means,
Each of the data servers is
Content storage means for storing content;
In response to a request from the terminal, content transmitting means for transmitting the content related to the request to the requested terminal,
A content distribution system characterized by that.

(Appendix 2) An information management server capable of communicating with a plurality of data servers for storing content and a terminal for reproducing the content,
In response to a request from the terminal, server ID transmitting means for transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting means for counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of requests for acquiring the content from the terminal for each content;
Content multiplexing means for storing the content in each data server based on the number of acquisition requests for each content counted by the acquisition request counting means;
An information management server comprising:

(Supplementary Note 3) The information management server further includes content dividing means for dividing the content,
The information management server according to appendix 2, wherein the content is a divided file obtained by dividing the content by the content dividing unit.

  (Supplementary note 4) The information management server according to supplementary note 3, wherein the content dividing unit divides the content at a chapter start position.

  (Additional remark 5) The said content multiplexing means is based on ratio of the acquisition request frequency of each division file with respect to the sum total of the acquisition request frequency of the division file obtained by dividing each of the plurality of contents. The information management server according to appendix 3 or 4, wherein the information management server is stored in a server.

(Supplementary Note 6) A computer that controls an information management server that can communicate with a plurality of data servers that store content and a terminal that reproduces the content,
In response to a request from the terminal, a server ID transmission step of transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting step of counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of times that the content has been requested from the terminal for each content;
Based on the counted number of acquisition requests for each content, a content multiplexing step for storing the content in each data server;
A program characterized by having executed.

(Supplementary note 7) The program further includes a content dividing step of dividing the content.
The program according to appendix 6, wherein the content is a divided file obtained by the division.

  (Supplementary note 8) The program according to supplementary note 7, wherein the content dividing step is a step of dividing the content at a chapter start position.

  (Supplementary note 9) Based on the ratio of the number of acquisition requests for each divided file to the total number of acquisition requests for the divided files obtained by dividing the plurality of contents by the content multiplexing step, The program according to appendix 7 or 8, which is a step of storing in a server.

  The present invention can be used for a WWW server, an FTP server, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Information provision server 20 Management server 30 Terminal 40 Data server 50 Communication network 51 Video distribution system 110 Communication part 120 Storage part 121 Program storage part 122 Division file management database 123 Acquisition request management database 124 Load database 130 Control part 210 Communication part 220 Operation Unit 230 display unit 240 storage unit 241 program storage unit 242 divided file storage unit 250 control unit 251 timer 310 communication unit 320 operation unit 330 display unit 340 storage unit 341 program storage unit 350 control unit 410 communication unit 420 storage unit 421 program storage unit 422 Divided file storage unit 430 Control unit 431 Timer

Claims (9)

A content distribution system comprising an information management server, a terminal, and a plurality of data servers for storing content,
The information management server
In response to a request from the terminal, server ID transmitting means for transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting means for counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of requests for acquiring the content from the terminal for each content;
Content multiplexing means for storing the content in the data servers based on the number of acquisition requests for each content counted by the acquisition request counting means,
The terminal
Server ID receiving means for requesting the information management server to obtain a server ID of a data server storing content, and receiving the server ID related to the request from the information management server;
Content receiving means for requesting the data server corresponding to the server ID received by the server ID receiving means to acquire the content related to the request and receiving the content related to the request from the data server;
Replaying means for replaying the content received by the content receiving means,
Each of the data servers is
Content storage means for storing content;
In response to a request from the terminal, content transmitting means for transmitting the content related to the request to the requested terminal,
A content distribution system characterized by that. An information management server capable of communicating with a plurality of data servers for storing content and a terminal for reproducing the content,
In response to a request from the terminal, server ID transmitting means for transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting means for counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of requests for acquiring the content from the terminal for each content;
Content multiplexing means for storing the content in each data server based on the number of acquisition requests for each content counted by the acquisition request counting means;
An information management server comprising: The information management server further comprises content dividing means for dividing the content;
3. The information management server according to claim 2, wherein the content is a divided file obtained by dividing the content by the content dividing unit.   The information management server according to claim 3, wherein the content dividing unit divides the content at a chapter start position.   The content multiplexing means stores the divided file in each data server based on the ratio of the number of acquisition requests for each divided file to the total number of acquisition requests for the divided files obtained by dividing a plurality of contents. The information management server according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that A plurality of data servers for storing content and a computer for controlling an information management server capable of communicating with a terminal for reproducing the content;
In response to a request from the terminal, a server ID transmission step of transmitting a server ID for identifying the data server storing the content related to the request to the requested terminal;
An acquisition request counting step of counting the number of acquisition requests indicating the number of times that the content has been requested from the terminal for each content;
Based on the counted number of acquisition requests for each content, a content multiplexing step for storing the content in each data server;
A program characterized by having executed. The program further comprises a content dividing step for dividing the content,
The program according to claim 6, wherein the content is a divided file obtained by the division.   The program according to claim 7, wherein the content dividing step is a step of dividing the content at a chapter start position.   The content multiplexing step stores the divided file in each data server based on the ratio of the number of acquisition requests for each divided file to the total number of acquisition requests for the divided files obtained by dividing a plurality of contents. The program according to claim 7, wherein the program is a step.

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