JPH1196031A - Information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a backup mechanism to be used when a fault occurs in a server device without hardly increasing cost. SOLUTION: The server device for executing various information processing in accordance with an information input from a client device is divided into a 1st server 2 having a 1st information processing function and a 2nd sever 3 having a 2nd information processing function. Each of the 1st and 2nd servers 2, 3 starts an opposite server fault monitoring task P3 to monitor the operation state of the opposite server. At the time of detecting abnormality in the opposite server, the sever 2 or 3 is substituted for executing the information processing function of the opposite server.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a POS (Point Of
Sales: Information on point-of-sale systems.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional POS system constructed in a shopping center, for example, connects a cash registering device so-called POS terminal installed in each tenant (store) to a computer installed in a developer headquarters via a communication line. On the basis of merchandise registration information collected from each POS terminal via a communication line, sales management information of the entire shopping center and sales management information of each tenant are compiled into a database and managed centrally using a computer. . In addition, a transaction occurs in which each tenant is paid by a credit card, and information such as credit card data, the amount of payment, and the number of payments is input to the POS terminal, and the credit is transmitted from the POS terminal to the computer via a communication line. When the inquiry information is transmitted, the computer determines the validity of the transaction by inquiring with a credit card issuing company, etc., notifies the POS terminal of the determination result, and creates a database of the credit management information to centralize it. Managed.

[0003] In this type of POS system, the computer receives various information such as unified management of sales management information and unified management of credit processing information in response to input of sales registration information and credit inquiry information from a POS terminal. As the processing is performed, the computer is positioned as a server device, and the POS terminal is positioned as a client device.

[0004]

Conventionally, there has been only one server device that executes various types of information processing in response to information input from a client device. Therefore, if a failure occurs in this server device, the system as a system will be described. There is a problem that the information processing function does not work at all. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, a computer having the same function as the server device is connected in parallel with the server device as a backup device, and when a failure occurs in the server device, all the functions are performed by the backup device. Such a configuration is conceivable.

[0005] However, in this case, there is a waste of having to equip a computer that does not operate at all while the server device is operating normally, so that many users feel that the burden on costs is large. When a failure occurs in a server device, information managed by the server device cannot be obtained until the failure is recovered. In the worst case, the information managed by the server device before the failure occurs is lost. There was a risk of doing so.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a first object is to realize a backup mechanism when a failure occurs in a server device without causing the user to feel a burden in terms of cost. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an information processing system capable of performing such processing. Further, a second object is to provide an information processing system which can improve reliability in information management without causing any trouble in management information even if a failure occurs in a server device. Things.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the first object, a server device for executing various types of information processing in response to information input from a client device is provided by a first device.
Is divided into a first server having an information processing function and a second server having a second information processing function different from the first information processing function. The first and second servers each include means for monitoring the operation state of the other server, and means for performing the information processing function of the other server when the abnormality of the other server is detected by the monitoring means. It is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object, a server device is provided with a first server having a first information processing function and a second information processing different from the first information processing function. It is divided into a second server having a function and a database server having a database management function. The first and second servers share the database server to perform information processing, respectively, and monitor the operation state of the other server. When the monitoring unit detects an abnormality of the other server, the first and second servers perform the information processing. Means for performing the information processing function of the other server.

It is to be noted that, as in the third aspect of the present invention, the first
Preferably, the second server is provided with means for detecting an abnormality of the other server and notifying the client device that the information processing function of the other server is performed on behalf of the other server when performing the information processing function of the other server. . As means for monitoring the operation state of the other server, a time measuring means for measuring the current time is provided as in the invention according to claim 4, and the current time measured by the time measuring means is periodically stored in the database server. In addition to the above-described method, it is conceivable to read the time written from the partner server into this predetermined area, read the time written from the partner server, and determine that the partner server is abnormal when the time has not changed from the previously read time.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment shows a case where the present invention is applied to a POS system built in a shopping center.

FIG. 1 schematically shows such a POS system. This POS system has a LAN (Local Area N).
etwork) The sales management server 2, the credit management server 3, the database server 4, and the POS controller 5 are connected to the line 1, respectively.
, And a plurality of POS terminals 7a, 7b,..., 7n connected via a closed loop circuit 6.

The sales management server 2 has a first information processing function of a conventional computer (server device) installed at the developer headquarters of the POS system, and has a first information processing function from each of the POS terminals 7 a to 7 n via the LAN line 1. A first server having a sales management information processing function for integrating sales management information of the entire shopping center and sales management information of each tenant into a database based on the collected product registration information and centrally managing the sales management information.

The credit management server 23 issues a credit card based on credit inquiry information sent from each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n via the LAN line 1 as a second function of the computer. The second has a credit management information processing function of judging the validity of a transaction by inquiring of a company or the like, notifying the judgment results to the POS terminals 7a to 7n, and making the credit management information into a database for centralized management.
Server.

The sales management server 2 is equipped with a sales management task group P1 which is software for performing a sales management information processing function.
Has a credit management system task group P2 which is software for performing a credit management information processing function. The sales management server 2 also includes a credit management task group P2 for backing up the credit management information processing function when a failure occurs in the credit management server 3.
The credit management server 3 has a sales management task group P1 for backing up the sales management information processing function when a failure occurs in the sales management server 2. Each of the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3 is a partner server failure monitoring task P which is software for monitoring the operation state of the partner server.
3 is installed.

The database server 4 includes a sales management information database DB1 managed by the sales management server 2 and a credit management information database DB2 managed by the credit management server 3. Further, it has an SC area A1 which is a predetermined area allocated to the sales management server 2, and a CR area A2 which is a predetermined area allocated to the credit management server 3.

The POS controller 5 has a function of relaying various messages transmitted and received between the POS terminals 7a to 7n and the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3. A POS-server communication task group P4, which is software for performing a relay function, is installed. In addition, each POS terminal 7
The transmission which is software for determining, for each message, whether the destination of the sales information message and the credit inquiry message transmitted from a to 7n is the server for sales management 2 or the server for credit management 3 respectively. The task P5 is determined.

Each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n has a sales registration function for sales merchandise and a settlement function for merchandise transactions. The merchandise registration information generated by the sales registration function is transmitted to the POS controller 5 in the form of a sales information message. The credit inquiry information generated by the settlement function is transmitted to the sales management server 2 via the POS controller 5 and transmitted to the credit management server 3 in the form of a credit inquiry message. I have.

The sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3 have the same hardware configuration. As shown in FIG. 2, a main control unit 11 mainly composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a ROM (Read Only) Memory unit 1 consisting of Memoly) and RAM (Random Access Memoly)
2. A clock unit 13 as a clock unit for measuring the current time, an auxiliary storage unit 14 for storing in advance the sales management system task group P1, credit management system task group P2, partner server failure monitoring task P3, etc., and the LAN line 1. A LAN control unit 15 that controls data communication performed through a LAN, a credit communication control unit 16 that controls data communication performed with a credit card issuing company through a dedicated line or a public line, and various I / O devices such as a keyboard, a display, and a printer. A connectable interface unit 17 and the like are provided. The main storage unit 11 and the memory unit 12, the clock unit 13, the auxiliary storage unit 14, the LAN control unit 15, the credit communication control unit 16, and the I / O device interface unit 17 are connected to a bus such as an address bus and a data bus. Connected by line 18.

As shown in FIG. 3, the memory unit 12 includes a main memory M1 for loading a task to be started, and a memory area used by the partner server fault monitoring task P3 as shown in FIG. , This time memory m
2, a failure occurrence area M2 in which a failure occurrence flag memory m3 and a failure recovery flag memory m4 are formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the POS controller 5 includes a main control section 51 mainly composed of a CPU, a memory section 52 composed of a ROM and a RAM, the POS-server communication task group P4, and a destination determination task. An auxiliary storage unit 53 that stores P5 and the like in advance; a LAN control unit 54 that controls data communication performed through the LAN line 1; and a POS communication control that controls data communication performed with each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n through the closed loop line 6. And an interface unit 56 to which various I / O devices such as a keyboard, a display, and a printer can be connected.
The main storage unit 51, the memory unit 52, and the auxiliary storage unit 5
3, LAN control unit 54, POS communication control unit 55 and I /
The O device interface unit 56 is connected by a bus line 57 such as an address bus and a data bus.

In the memory unit 52, in addition to a main storage unit M3 for loading a task to be started, as shown in FIG. 5, the destination of the credit inquiry message is a credit management server (CR) 3. Nakanaka Sales Management Server (S
C) Inquiry message transmission destination information d1 specifying whether it is 2
And the destination of the sales information message is the sales management server (S
C) There is provided a destination setting table M4 for storing sales message destination information d2 for specifying whether it is 2 or the credit management server (CR) 3.

In the POS system having such a configuration, the main control unit 11 of the sales management server 2 controls each unit according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG.
That is, the main control unit 11 reads the sales management task group P1 from the auxiliary storage unit 14, loads it into the main storage unit M1, and starts up the system when starting up the system (ST11).

Thus, the main control section 11 fulfills the sales management information processing function. That is, when a sales information message is received from each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n via the LAN control unit 15, the sales management database DB1 of the database server 4 is accessed by using the product registration information in the message, and the entire shopping center is accessed. Manage sales management information of each tenant and sales management information of each tenant.

The main control unit 11 loads the partner server fault monitoring task P3 from the auxiliary storage unit 14 into the main storage unit M1 at the time of starting the system and starts the task, and determines whether the credit management server 3 has a fault. Is always monitored (ST
12). When it is detected that a failure has occurred (ST
13, YES), the credit management task group P2 is loaded from the auxiliary storage unit 14 into the main storage unit M1, and activated (ST).
14). Further, a failure occurrence notification message of the credit management server 3 is created and transmitted to the POS controller 5 via the LAN control unit 15 (ST15).

Thus, the main controller 11 performs a credit management information processing function in parallel with the sales management information processing function. That is, when the credit inquiry message is received from each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n via the LAN line 15, the validity of the transaction is determined by inquiring the credit card issuing company via the credit communication control unit 16. In addition to notifying the POS terminals 7a to 7n of the determination result, the sales management database DB1 of the database server 4 is accessed to manage the credit management information.

Thereafter, the main control unit 11 constantly monitors whether or not the failure of the credit management server 3 has been restored (ST).
16). When it is detected that the failure has been recovered (ST
17 (YES), the execution of the credit management task group P2 is stopped (ST18). Further, a failure recovery notification message of the credit management server 3 is created and transmitted to the POS controller 5 via the LAN control unit 15 (ST19).

Thus, the main control unit 11 performs only the sales management information processing function. Thereafter, the main control unit 11 constantly monitors whether or not a failure has occurred in the credit management server 3 again (ST12), and detects the occurrence of the failure (S12).
T13: YES), and repeats the processing from ST14.

On the other hand, the main control section 11 of the credit management server 3 controls each section in accordance with the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the main control unit 11
When the system is started, the credit management task group P2 is read from the auxiliary storage unit 14, loaded into the main storage unit M1, and activated (ST21).

As a result, the main control unit 11 performs a credit management information processing function. That is, when a credit inquiry message is received from each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n via the LAN line 15, the credit communication control unit 16
The validity of the transaction is determined by making an inquiry to the credit card issuing company via the POS terminal, and the determination result is notified to the POS terminals 7a to 7n.
To access the sales management database DB1 to manage the credit management information.

The main control unit 11 loads the partner server fault monitoring task P3 from the auxiliary storage unit 14 into the main storage unit M1 at the time of starting the system and starts it up, and determines whether a fault has occurred in the sales management server 2. (ST2)
2). When it is detected that a failure has occurred (ST2
3), the sales management task group P1 is loaded from the auxiliary storage unit 14 into the main storage unit M1 and activated (ST24).
Further, a failure occurrence notification message of the sales management server 2 is created and transmitted to the POS controller 5 via the LAN control unit 15 (ST25).

Thus, the main controller 11 performs a sales management information processing function in parallel with the credit management information processing function. That is, each POS is transmitted via the LAN control unit 15.
When the sales information message is received from the terminals 7a to 7n, the database server 4 uses the product registration information in the message.
The sales management database DB1 is accessed to manage the sales management information of the entire shopping center and the sales management information of each tenant.

Thereafter, the main control unit 11 constantly monitors whether or not the failure of the sales management server 2 has been recovered (ST2).
6). When it is detected that the failure has been recovered (ST2
7 (YES), execution of the sales management task group P2 is stopped (ST28). Further, a failure recovery notification message of the sales management server 3 is created and transmitted to the POS controller 5 via the LAN control unit 15 (ST29).

Thus, the main control unit 11 performs only the credit management information processing function. Then the main control unit 11
Always monitors again whether a failure has occurred in the sales management server 2 (ST22), and when the failure has been detected (YES in ST23), repeats the processing from ST24.

By the way, the failure monitoring process of the partner server, which is executed by the main controller 11 of the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3, respectively, is executed in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. Have been done.
That is, the main control unit 11 starts this fault monitoring process in response to an interrupt signal generated every time the time measured by the clock unit 13 elapses one minute. SC area A for management server 2
1, CR area A2 in the case of the credit management server 3)
Then, the current time (hour: minute) read from the clock unit 13 is written.

Next, the main control section 11 sets the partner area of the database server 4 (CR area A in the case of the sales management server 2).
2. In the case of the credit management server 3, the SC area A1)
The time data written in the error monitoring area M is read.
2 in the current time memory m2. Then, the time data stored in the current time memory m2 is compared with the time data stored in the previous time memory m1 of the fault monitoring area M2 (time data read from the partner area in the previous fault monitoring processing). I do.

As a result, if the time data in the current time memory m2 has been updated more than the time data in the previous time memory m1, it is determined that the partner server is operating normally. If the flag has been set in the fault occurrence flag memory m3 of the fault monitoring area M2, the flag is reset, and if the flag has been reset in the fault recovery flag memory m4, the flag is set. On the other hand, if the time data in the current time memory m2 has not changed from the time data in the previous time memory m1, it is determined that a failure has occurred in the partner server. Then, the flag is set when the flag has been reset in the fault occurrence flag memory m3 of the fault monitoring area M2, and is reset when the flag has been set in the fault recovery flag memory m4.

Thereafter, the main control unit 11 sets the fault monitoring area M2
When the contents of the previous time memory m1 are updated to the time data of the current time memory m2, the CPU waits for the next interrupt signal.

Therefore, in the processing of ST12 in FIG. 6A, the main control unit 11 of the sales management server 2 generates a failure in the credit management server 3 when the flag is set in the failure occurrence flag memory m3. Judge that you have done. In the process of ST16, when the flag has been set in the failure recovery flag memory m4, it is determined that the failure of the credit management server 3 has been recovered. Similarly, the main control unit 11 of the credit management server 3 performs the processing in ST22 of FIG.
In the processing of (1), it is determined that a failure has occurred in the sales management server 2 when the flag has been set in the failure occurrence flag memory m3, and in the processing of ST16, the sales have been performed when the flag has been set in the failure recovery flag memory m4. It is determined that the failure of the management server 2 has been recovered.

The main controller 51 of the POS controller 5
Reads the POS-server communication system task group P4 from the auxiliary storage unit 53 at system startup, loads it into the main storage unit M3, and activates it.

Thus, the main controller 51 fulfills a function of relaying various messages between the POS terminals 7a to 7n and the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3.
That is, when the sales information message transmitted from each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n is received via the POS communication control unit 55, the sales message transmission destination information d in the transmission destination setting table M4 is received.
2 to determine the destination of the sales information message. And
If the sales message transmission destination information d2 is SC, the LAN control unit 5
Then, the sales information message is transmitted to the credit management server 3 via the LAN controller 54 when the sales message transmission destination information d2 is CR. .

When the credit inquiry message transmitted from each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n is received via the POS communication control unit 55, the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 in the transmission destination setting table M4 is checked and the credit inquiry message is checked. The transmission destination of the inquiry message is determined. Then, if the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 is CR, the credit inquiry message is transmitted to the credit management server 3 via the LAN control unit 54, and if the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 is SC, LAN
The credit inquiry message is transmitted to the sales management server 2 via the control unit 54.

By the way, each information d1 and d2 of the destination setting table M4 used to determine the destination of the sales information message and the credit inquiry message includes the destination determining task P
5 is executed. That is, the main control unit 51
Reads the destination determination task P5 from the auxiliary storage unit 53 at the time of system startup, loads it into the main storage unit M3, and starts up.

As a result, the main control unit 51 first sets the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 of the transmission destination setting table M4 to the information "CR" specifying the credit management server 3 as an initial setting, and transmits the sales message transmission. The destination information d2 is assumed to be information “SC” that specifies the sales management server 2. Therefore, in this state, the credit inquiry message is transmitted to the credit management server 3, and the sales information message is transmitted to the sales management server 2.

Thereafter, the main control unit 51 waits for a failure occurrence notification message or a failure recovery notification message sent from the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3. Here, from the sales management server 2 to the credit management server 3
Received the failure occurrence notification message (YE of ST31)
S), the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 of the transmission destination setting table M4 is changed to information "SC" that specifies the sales management server 2. As a result, both the credit inquiry message and the sales information message are transmitted to the sales management server 2.

Thereafter, when the failure recovery notification message of the credit management server 3 is received from the sales management server 2 (S
(YES in T33), the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 of the transmission destination setting table M4 is returned to the information “CR” specifying the credit management server 3. Thereby, the credit inquiry message is transmitted to the credit management server 3, and the sales information message is transmitted to the sales management server 2.

When a failure occurrence notification message of the sales management server 2 is received from the credit management server 3 (ST
32), the sales message transmission destination information d2 of the transmission destination setting table M4 is changed to information "CR" for specifying the credit management server 3. As a result, both the credit inquiry message and the sales information message are transmitted to the credit management server 3.

Thereafter, when a failure recovery notification message of the sales management server 2 is received from the credit management server 3 (S
(T34: YES), the inquiry message transmission destination information d1 of the transmission destination setting table M4 is returned to the information "SC" specifying the sales management server 2. As a result, the sales information message is transmitted to the sales management server 2, and the credit inquiry message is transmitted to the credit management server 3.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when both the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3 are normal, the sales management task group P1 is activated in the sales management server 2 and the credit management task group P1 is activated. In the server 3, the credit management task group P2 is activated. The sales information message generated from each of the POS controllers 7a to 7n is transmitted to the sales management server 2, and the credit inquiry message is transmitted to the credit management server 3. Thus, the sales management server 2 performs only the sales management information processing function, and the credit management server 3 performs only the credit management information processing function. Therefore, the two functions (sales management information processing function and credit management information processing function) of the original server device are distributed by the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3.
Processing efficiency can be increased.

On the other hand, for example, when a failure occurs in the sales management server 2 and the function cannot be performed,
The sales management task group P1 is activated in the credit management server 3. And each POS controller 7a ~
The sales information message generated from 7n is transmitted to the credit management server 3. Thus, the credit management server 3 performs a sales management information processing function in addition to the credit management information processing function. Therefore, even if a failure occurs in the sales management server 2, the sales management information processing function is automatically backed up by the credit management server 3, so that the sales management information processing function does not stop.
The reliability of the system can be improved.

Similarly, when a failure occurs in the credit management server 3 and the function cannot be performed, the credit management task group P2
Starts. Then, each of the POS controllers 7a to 7n
Is transmitted to the sales management server 2. Thus, the sales management server 2 performs a credit management information processing function in addition to the sales management information processing function. Therefore, even if a failure occurs in the credit management server 3, the credit management information processing function is automatically backed up by the sales management server 2, so that the credit management information processing function does not stop.

In constructing such a backup mechanism, the number of server devices is increased to two, that is, the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3. Each server 2 and 3 backs up the functions of the other party. Even when not in operation, each is running to fulfill its own function,
The user does not feel the expense of adding the server device as a burden.

The sales management information processed by the sales management server 2 before the occurrence of the failure is managed in the sales management database DB1 of the database server 4, and the credit management server 3 keeps the sales management after the failure occurs. The sales management information is managed using the business database DB1. Similarly, the credit management information processed by the credit management server 3 before the occurrence of the failure is stored in the database server 4.
Is managed by the credit management database DB2, and the sales management server 2 manages the credit management information using the credit management database DB2 even after a failure occurs. Therefore, a server failure may affect information management of the system.

The present invention relates to the POS of the above embodiment.
The present invention is not limited to the system. For example, a plurality of POS terminals 7a to 7n may be directly connected to the LAN line 1 and the POS controller 5 may be omitted. In this case, the sales management server 2 and the credit management server 3
Sends a failure notification message to each of the POS terminals 7a to 7n.

Further, in the POS system of the embodiment, the case where the server device performs the sales management information processing function and the credit management information processing function has been described. This can be dealt with by separately providing a server that performs the function, or by sharing the other function with the first server or the second server.

The present invention is not limited to the POS system, but can be applied to any information processing system in which a server device performs various information processing functions in response to information input from a client device.

[0056]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Provide an information processing system that can improve the information processing efficiency due to the load distribution of the server device performing various information processing functions and realize a backup mechanism when a failure occurs in the server device without feeling the burden on the user in terms of cost. it can. Further, even if a failure occurs in the server device, there is no possibility that the management information up to that point will be lost, and it is possible to provide an information processing system capable of improving reliability from the information management aspect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a POS system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a main configuration of a server which is a component of the POS system.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a fault monitoring area provided in a memory unit of the server shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a main configuration of a POS controller, which is a component of the POS system.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a destination setting table provided in a memory unit of the POS controller shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing main processing procedures of a sales management server and a credit management server, which are components of the POS system.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a partner server failure monitoring task included in the sales management server and the credit management server, which is a component of the POS system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a destination determining task of the POS controller, which is a component of the POS system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Sales management server (first server) 3: Credit management server (second server) 4: Database server 5: POS controller 7: POS terminal P1: Sales management task group P2: Credit management task group P3: Remote server failure monitoring task P4: POS-server communication task group P5: Destination determination task DB1: Sales management database DB2: Credit management database

Claims (4)

[Claims] A first server having a first information processing function and a second server different from the first information processing function having a first information processing function. And a second server having an information processing function of: the first and second servers respectively monitor means for monitoring the operation state of the other server, and when the monitoring means detects an abnormality of the other server, Means for acting on behalf of the information processing function of the partner server. 2. A server device, which executes various types of information processing in response to information input from a client device, includes a first server having a first information processing function and a second server different from the first information processing function. A second server having an information processing function and a database server having a database management function, wherein the first and second servers share the database server to perform information processing, respectively, and An information processing system comprising: means for monitoring an operation state of a server; and means for performing an information processing function of the other server when the abnormality of the other server is detected by the monitoring means. 3. The first and second servers detect an abnormality of a partner server and notify a client device to substitute the information processing function of the partner server when acting for the information processing function of the partner server. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The means for monitoring the operation state of the partner server includes a clock means for clocking the current time, and the current time measured by the clock means is periodically written to a predetermined area of the database server. 3. A means according to claim 2, wherein said means reads said time written by said partner server in said predetermined area, and judges that said partner server is abnormal when it has not changed from the previously read time. Information processing system.