KR20030079842A - A method of transferring data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for transmitting data is provided to supply high capacity data including multimedia data such as audio data and video data for a receiver of E-mail. CONSTITUTION: It is judged whether a data identifier for referring to predetermined data is included in E-mail received by a client terminal(401,402). In the case that the data identifier is included in the E-mail, the data identifier is transmitted to an indexing server(403), and connection information with respect to a data supply terminal is requested(404). The connection information with respect to at least one data supply terminal is received from the indexing server(405). The data are requested to the data supply terminal based on the connection information(406). The data are received from the data supply terminal(407). The indexing server is connected to the client terminal through a communication network and maintains connection information with respect to the data supply terminal which stores data. The data identifier includes URL information of a data supply server which outputs the data.

Description

Data transfer method {A METHOD OF TRANSFERRING DATA}

The present invention relates to a data transmission method using e-mail, and more particularly, when a client terminal receives an e-mail including a data identifier from one or more data providing terminals including a data providing server using the data identifier. The present invention relates to a data transmission method capable of receiving data.

As the Internet becomes more common, e-mail has become an important means of communication, and e-mail (or e-mail) services are becoming more diverse. 1 is a view for explaining a conventional e-mail service. The e-mail created by the sending client 110 is transmitted to the e-mail receiving server 130 through the e-mail sending server 120, and the receiving client 140 accesses the e-mail receiving server 130 to receive the e-mail. You will be provided.

Conventional e-mails are mainly text-based, but with the development of technology, e-mails in the form of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), which support various types of documents, are increasing. This is especially true for Outlook , Eudora Instead of using an e-mail transmission / reception program such as the above, it is more prominent as the number of e-mail transmission and reception using a web browser increases. In addition, the above-mentioned e-mail transmission and reception program itself supports the use of e-mail in HTML format.

Most e-mail client programs have the ability to receive and process e-mail written in HTML directly. Currently, when receiving the e-mail by inserting the audio data into the e-mail using such a function, the e-mail service for reproducing the audio data and using it as background music of the message included in the e-mail, image data in the e-mail. An e-mail service for inserting a digit and allowing the user to view the image data when the user receives and reads the e-mail, or an e-mail service that uses the audio data and the image data together is generally used. As such, e-mail services that provide a multimedia environment, rather than conventional text-based e-mail, are increasing. In addition to the above-mentioned audio data or image data, there is an increasing number of cases in which a limited motion is used by using a flash or a moving GIF to give a moving effect such as a moving picture in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, as the use of e-mail is becoming more common, the use of e-mail for advertising or promotion is increasing. In this case, image data may be inserted into an e-mail to enhance an advertisement effect. However, when audio data or video data is inserted in addition to the image data and the recipient of the e-mail reads the e-mail, the audio data or the video data is reproduced. Doing so will maximize advertising effectiveness.

However, the audio or video data described above is much larger than simple text or image data. In general, an e-mail server that sends and receives e-mail has a limitation on the size of data sent in one e-mail, which includes the size of the attachment (the load on the e-mail sending and receiving server is part of the text in the e-mail). More likely to be handled than attachments). In addition, the majority of users send and receive e-mail using a free e-mail service, which not only limits the size of data that can be sent at a time, but also the storage allocated to an individual user. Since the size of the space is also limited, it is more restrictive to insert and receive such multimedia data in electronic mail.

Due to the limitation of the size of data that can be transmitted, it is difficult to insert large sized audio data or video data into an e-mail and transmit it to other users, and by greatly reducing the sound quality (quality) of audio (video). There is a problem. In particular, there is a problem that it is very difficult in the current situation to transmit video data having a large data capacity to the receiver in the form of an attachment file even in comparison with audio data.

In order to solve such a problem, an e-mail service as shown in FIG. 2 is provided. Reference numeral 210 denotes a transmitting client terminal for transmitting an electronic mail, and reference numeral 240 denotes a receiving client terminal for receiving the electronic mail. If a user does not attach data such as audio data to the e-mail, and composes and transmits an e-mail including a URL for the data providing server 203 which stores the data, the e-mail is an e-mail sending server ( 220 and an e-mail receiving server 230 to the receiving client 240. The receiving client 240 connected to the e-mail receiving server 230 does not receive the data by connecting to the e-mail receiving server 230, but accesses and receives the data providing server 260 by using the URL. Get data.

However, when there are many recipients of the e-mail (especially in the case of advertisements or promotional e-mails, there are many unspecified recipients), the data provision server 260 is because the data requests of the recipients are concentrated on the data provision server 260. And a lot of load on the network. In addition, there is a problem that the user who receives the data has a long time to wait until the data is transmitted.

In order to solve such a problem, a data providing server 260 and a network having a sufficient capacity may be used, but in this case, the cost of providing the equipments is large, and even if the equipment is provided, users may receive the data. Since the frequency of requesting the data is not constant, there is a problem in that the equipment may not be effectively utilized as an idle equipment except for a specific time period when a large number of users request the data.

On the other hand, the cause of the specific time zone can be described as follows.

i) Unread e-mails received the day before are often read immediately after work.

ii) E-mails for advertising and promotion are often sent after work hours and read immediately after work on the following day.

iii) E-mail sent to multiple recipients at the same time is received at the recipient's e-mail server at a similar time, and as a result, most of the e-mail is read in a similar time zone.

Accordingly, data requests are congested from users who have received e-mail at specific times, but the requests are relatively reduced at other times, leaving the equipment as idle equipment outside the specific time zone.

By the way, in the retrieval and exchange of information using the Internet, multimedia occupies more and more than text, and it is predicted that the day when the voice or image of the sender replaces the text even in the case of electronic mail. In addition, news and educational materials produced in the form of voice or video will be frequently delivered by e-mail.

Thus, there is an increasing need to solve the above-mentioned problems in order to provide voice or image to the recipient by using electronic mail. On the other hand, the above-described problem may occur even when transmitting a large amount of data using electronic mail as well as multimedia data such as audio data or video data, and there is a need for a solution.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the data that can provide a large amount of data to the recipient of the e-mail, including multimedia data such as audio data, video data using e-mail It is an object to provide a transmission method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission method capable of minimizing the load on the server and network storing the data and reducing the transmission time of the data.

1 and 2 are diagrams for explaining a conventional e-mail service.

3 is a diagram illustrating a network connection of a client terminal including a data providing system for performing a data transmission method according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of connection information received by a client terminal in a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 illustrates an example of information transmitted to an indexing server in a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a diagram for one example of a data identifier stored in a management database, connection information, and workload information associated with the connection information in the data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer system that may be employed to construct a data transfer system or the like in accordance with the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object and solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the data transmission method according to the present invention determines whether a data identifier for referencing predetermined data is included in an e-mail received by a client terminal. When the electronic mail includes the data identifier, requesting access information for a data providing terminal by transmitting the data identifier to a predetermined indexing server, requesting at least one data providing terminal from the indexing server. Receiving the connection information, requesting the data from the data providing terminal based on the connection information, and receiving the data from the data providing terminal, wherein the indexing server is connected with the client terminal. Connected through a network, It is characterized in that the connection information for the data providing terminal for storing the predetermined data is maintained.

According to one aspect of the invention, the data identifier may include URL information of the data providing server that is the source of the data.

Further, according to another aspect of the invention, the data providing terminal is characterized in that the data providing server, or a client terminal that receives and stores the data from the data providing server.

In addition, the data transmission method according to the present invention comprises the steps of storing a data identifier and connection information corresponding to the data identifier in a predetermined management database means, wherein the connection information is connection information for a data providing terminal that stores data. Receiving a data identifier from a predetermined client terminal, retrieving connection information corresponding to the received data identifier from the management database means, and transmitting the retrieved connection information to the client terminal, The data providing terminal is a data providing server which is a source of the data, or a client terminal that receives and stores the data from the data providing server. The present invention also provides a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the above-described data transfer method.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention in detail.

3 is a diagram illustrating a network connection of a client terminal 340 including a data providing system for performing a data transmission method according to the present invention. The present invention is applicable to an e-mail service in which a large amount of data such as multimedia data is not directly inserted and attached into an e-mail, but is provided with data from a predetermined data providing server 360. The user who receives the mail can receive data from not only the data providing server 360 but also one or more data providing terminals 370a to 370c storing the data.

Hereinafter, a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to the present embodiment.

The data transmission system receives an e-mail from the e-mail receiving server 330 in step 401, and determines whether the data e-mail includes a data identifier for referring to predetermined data in step 402.

The data identifier may include URL information of the data providing server 360 that is the source of the data. Javascript, tag commands, Active-x objects, etc. may be used to include the data identifier in the e-mail. For example, the following HTML may be inserted into an e-mail to include the data identifier in the e-mail.

1) If you are using JavaScript,

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE = "JavaScript" SRC = http: //www.server.com/ contents / link.asp? Data_id = 000010488> </ SCRIPT>

2) When using the tag command (When using the bgsound tag command)

<bgsound src = http://www.server.com/contents/music.asf hidden = true>

3) When using the tag command (When using the embedded tag command)

<embed src = http://www.server.com/contents/music.asf hidden = ture>

4) Using Active-X Objects

<OBJECT name = "p3playctrl" id = "p3plyactrl" classid = "clsid: 5363A 8A-1FE% -4B3F-95BE-AF0F392DE720"

CODEBASE = http: //www.peeringportal.net/activectrl/P3PlayCtrl.cab#version=1,0,0,1>

<PARAM URL = "p3tp: //www.server.com/contents/kor104234">

</ OBJECT>

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the data identifier may be a unique ID generated by a predetermined ID generation system for the data. When the unique ID is used as the data identifier, the data providing server 360 and the indexing server 350, which are the sources of the data, should store each unique ID for each data. The transmitting client terminal 310 receives a unique ID corresponding to predetermined data from the data providing server 360 and inserts the unique ID into an e-mail to transmit the data. The data identifier is included in the client terminal 340. Can send e-mail.

If it is determined in step 402 that the data identifier is included in the electronic mail, the data transmission system transmits the data identifier to the indexing server 350 in step 403. Receiving the data identifier, the indexing server 350 transmits the connection information and the workload information for the predetermined data providing terminal corresponding to the data identifier in step 404 to the data transmission system.

The data providing terminal may include a client terminal that receives and stores the data from the data providing server 360 as well as the data providing server 360 that is the source of the data. 340 may not only receive the data, but may also serve as a data providing terminal that provides the data to other client terminals.

The workload information is calculated through measuring workload calculation data at each client terminal, and calculating workload information of each client terminal based on the measured workload calculation data. The workload information is transmitted to the indexing server 350. The transmitted workload information is stored in association with each of the client terminals in a predetermined database, respectively. Through such a configuration, the indexing server 350 can know the workload information of each client terminal, and each client terminal functions as a data provider (data providing terminal) as well as a data receiver. Similarly, the data transmission system calculates workload information of the client terminal 340, transmits the information to the indexing server 350, and stores the workload information.

The workload unloading data, which is a basis for calculating workload information, is connected to the load of the CPU of the client terminal 340, the workload of the hard disk, and other client terminals connected to the client terminal 340 to receive predetermined data. The number of times of providing the data to another client terminal connected to the client terminal, the network traffic between the client terminal and the other client terminal, and depending on the embodiment, part of which is excluded or other workload calculation Data may be included.

The data transmission system selects one or more of the connection information received from the indexing server 350 based on the workload information in step 405. For example, when the data transmission system receives the connection information and the workload information as shown in Fig. 5, the data transmission system selects the connection information for the data providing terminal 370c. Alternatively, one or more data providing terminals may be selected, and when two pieces of connection information are selected, connection information for the data providing terminal 370c and connection information for the data providing terminal 370b may be selected.

If the connection information of the data providing terminal 370c is selected as the connection information, the data transmission system requests the data from the data providing terminal 370c based on the selected connection information in step 406, and in step 407 The data is received from the data providing terminal 370c and stored in the storage means of the client terminal 340.

At this time, the data transmission system measures the transmission rate of the data (step 408), and if the transmission rate is less than a predetermined threshold, stops receiving the data from the data providing terminal 370c (step 410). The data is transmitted from a data providing terminal other than the data providing terminal 370c. The predetermined threshold means a minimum transmission speed required for playing predetermined multimedia data, and can be set variably according to the network situation or the type of multimedia data to be played.

The data providing system returns to step 405 to provide data with a minimum workload except for the data providing terminal 370c based on the workload information (shown in FIG. 5) received from the indexing server 350. The access information for the terminal 370b is selected and the steps 405 to 410 are repeated until the data transmission is completed. Through such a configuration, by receiving the data from a data providing terminal having a data transmission speed greater than or equal to a threshold value, the user waits until the data is completed.

That is, in the data transmission method according to the present exemplary embodiment, the data transmission speed is primarily guaranteed by selecting the data providing terminal 370c based on the workload information received from the indexing server 350, and the data transmission rate is guaranteed. Even if the data providing terminal selected on the basis of the data transmission rate is actually lower than the threshold, it is possible to receive data from another data providing terminal 370b, thereby ensuring the data transmission rate secondarily.

As in the above example, the main reason that the data transfer rate from the data providing terminal 370c selected based on the workload information is lower than the transfer rate from the other data providing terminal 370b is the workload at each client terminal. This results from a time difference between when the information is computed and when the client terminal 340 receives the workload information. That is, after the workload information is calculated by the data providing terminal 370c, the workload may increase in the data providing terminal 370c.

In order to minimize the difference in time as described above, each client terminal repeats the step of calculating its own workload information and transmitting it to the indexing server 350, and the transmission period of the workload information between the client terminal and the indexing server. Consideration should be given to the provision of network traffic and accurate workload information.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, even when receiving the data from each of the data providing terminals (370a to 370c) based on the connection information received from the indexing server 350, respectively, the data at the transmission rate of the threshold value or more If there is no data providing terminal for transmitting the data, the data transmission system receives the data directly from the data providing server 360 which is the source of the data, thereby receiving the data only from the data providing server 360 at least. Guaranteed transmission speed as in the prior art.

The data providing system determines whether or not the transmission of the data is completed in step 411, and continuously receives and stores the data until the transmission of the data is completed.

When the reception and storage of the data is completed, the data transmission system reproduces the multimedia data and provides the user visually or aurally when the data received and stored in step 412 is multimedia data. If the data is not multimedia data, step 412 may be omitted. At this time, according to another embodiment of the present invention, even if the reception of the entire multimedia data is not completed, playback is started using a part of the multimedia data already received. In this case, if the reception speed is guaranteed to be equal to or higher than the reproduction speed, the multimedia data may be reproduced without a problem such as interruption of sound or an image.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data transmission system transmits a data identifier for identifying the data stored in the storage means to the indexing server 350 to store the data in the indexing server 350 The providing terminal can be identified. Since the client terminal 340 functions as a data providing terminal for other client terminals, the data providing system needs to inform the indexing server 350 of the type of data stored in the storage means of the client terminal 340. .

To this end, the data providing system tracks the changes of the data stored in the storage means in step 413, and if the changes are detected in steps 414, 415, and 416, the data stored in the storage means. Search for and transmit a data identifier corresponding to the retrieved data to the indexing server 350.

That is, the data providing system detects whenever new data is stored in the storage means or existing data stored therein is deleted, and the data identifier corresponding to the data actually stored in the storage means is sent to the indexing server 350. By transmitting, the access information that the indexing server 350 provides to each client terminal can be made more accurate.

On the other hand, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the data received from the data providing terminal is stored in a predetermined form in a predetermined position of the storage means of the client terminal 340. The predetermined folder is a web browser, MS Explorer In the case of 'Internet Temporary Folder', it may be a default folder used by a specific application, or a folder designated by a user.

Since the data received by each client terminal according to the data transmission method according to the present embodiment are collectively stored in the predetermined position among the storage means of each client terminal, the data transmission system corresponds to the data. It is only necessary to transmit the data identifier to the indexing server 350, and it is not necessary to transmit the position data on which position of the storage means.

Another client terminal that receives the access information about the client terminal 340 from the indexing server 350 may access the client terminal 340 and receive the data from the folder.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data is stored in any form at any position other than the predetermined one of the storage means. In this case, the data transmission system transmits not only the data identifier for the data but also the position identifier for the position where the data is stored in the storage means to the indexing server 350. The indexing server 350 provides the other client terminal with connection information about the client terminal 340 and the location identifier with respect to the data identifier, and the other client terminal accesses the client terminal 340 based on the connection information. The data may be provided at the location of the storage means using the location identifier.

On the other hand, as will be described later, when the data is composed of one or more segments including a header in which predetermined order information is recorded, and the segments constituting a part of the data are stored in the storage means instead of the entire data. In addition, the client terminal 340 transmits the segment identifier for identifying the segment together to the indexing server 350 in addition to the data identifier of the segment stored in the storage means, and manages the segment identifier in the indexing server 350. You can do that. Of course, if the segment is stored in any of the storage means, a location identifier for the location should be further transmitted.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned workload information may be transmitted together when the client terminal 340 transmits the data identifier. This configuration can reduce the number of data transmissions between the indexing server 350 and the client terminal 340.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of information transmitted from the data transmission system to the indexing server 350 as described above. In some embodiments, the location identifier or the segment identifier may not be transmitted, and the workload information may be transmitted separately from the data identifier.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data transmission system transmits the data identifier to the indexing server 350 through the steps as shown in FIG. Steps 701 to 712 are the same as steps 401 to 412 shown in FIG. 4, and thus are not shown. Only steps 713 to 720 are shown.

According to the present embodiment, the data transmission system determines whether a predetermined period has elapsed since the last data transmission to the indexing server 350 in step 713, and if the period has elapsed, step 714. In step 715, the data stored in the storage space is retrieved, and in step 715, a data identifier corresponding to the retrieved data is transmitted to the indexing server 350.

That is, the data transmission system according to the present embodiment updates the access information stored in the indexing server 350 in a manner of periodically searching for data stored in the storage means and transmitting a data identifier for the retrieved data. Let this be done.

Steps 716 to 720 are the same as steps 417 to 421 described later, and thus description thereof is omitted.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the connection state of the client terminal 340 to the indexing server 350 is changed in step 417, the data transmission system detects the change of the connection state. The connection state includes the client terminal 340 in an 'online state' or an 'offline state' with respect to the indexing server 350.

If a change in the connection state is detected, the data transmission system reports the change in the connection state of the client terminal 340 to the indexing server 350 in step 418. At this time, the report of the change to the online state is reported. After the data transmission system connects to the indexing server 350, the report of the change to the offline state may be performed when a control signal for terminating the connection to the indexing server 350 by the client terminal 340 is input. It may be made after the input of the control signal but before terminating the connection.

When the indexing server 350 that receives the report of the connected state receives a change report of 'from online state to offline state', the client terminal 340 recognizes that it cannot function as a data providing terminal (for example, Deletes the access information for the client terminal 340, and recognizes that the client terminal 340 can function as a data providing terminal when the change of the "offline state to online state" has been reported (for example, Adds connection information for the client terminal 340 to the connection information corresponding to the predetermined data identifier).

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, if the data transmission system detects a change from the offline state to the online state in step 419, the data transmission system searches for the data stored in the storage space, The data identifier corresponding to the data is transmitted to the indexing server 350 (steps 420 and 421).

Therefore, when the change of the data stored in the storage means is detected as described above, the data identifier for the data stored in the storage space is transmitted or the data identifier for the data stored in the storage space is periodically In addition to the data transmission system, when the client terminal 340 changes from an offline state to an online state with respect to the indexing server 350, the data transmission system may provide a data identifier for data stored in the storage space in that state. By transmitting to 350, more accurate connection information can be maintained at the indexing server 350.

On the other hand, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the data is composed of one or more segments including a header in which predetermined order information is recorded, and the indexing server 350 in step 404 for one or more data providing terminals. In addition to the access information, a segment identifier for identifying a segment stored in the data providing terminal is further transmitted to the data transmission system.

The data transmission system requests the segment from the data providing terminal in step 407 based on the connection information and the segment identifier, and receives the segment in parallel from one or more data providing terminals in step 408. Receiving the segments in parallel may mean not only receiving each segment from a plurality of data providing terminals, but also receiving the segment regardless of the order information.

The data providing system generates the data by combining the received segments based on the segment identifiers. Even when the data is not received and stored in a predetermined order, the data may be combined based on the order information.

Parallel transmission using the above-described segment concept is described in detail in "Multimedia data reproduction method and apparatus for same (Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0005614), filed by the same person on January 28, 2003". Since it is described, detailed description thereof is omitted in the present specification.

Hereinafter, a data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The data transmission method according to the present embodiment is performed in the data transmission system on the indexing server 350 side in FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method according to the present embodiment.

The data transmission system stores, in step 801, data identifiers, connection information corresponding to the data identifiers, and workload information associated with the connection information in a predetermined management database means. The connection information is connection information for a data providing terminal that stores data identified by the data identifier, and the workload information is information about a workload in the data providing terminal. Further, in the present embodiment, the data identifier is data that is the source of the data.

The access information and the like may be received and stored from the data providing terminal. In this embodiment, this process is performed periodically. If a predetermined period (corresponding to a period) has elapsed since the last time the connection information or the like is received from the data providing terminal in step 802, the data transmission system sends a data identifier from the data providing terminal to the data providing terminal. Receiving connection information and workload information at the data providing terminal, and the data transmission system returns to step 801 to store information stored in the management database using the received data identifier, connection information, and workload information. Update the.

In addition, if the data identifier, the connection information and the workload information are not received even after the period has elapsed, the data transmission system connects corresponding to the data identifier in step 806. Information and workload information associated with the connection information are deleted from the management database. This means that the data providing terminal which does not transmit the data identifier or the like even after the period of time has elapsed is regarded as a state in which the possibility of providing (transmitting) the data, such as going offline to the data transmission system, is not certain, This is to ensure the provision of the data to the client terminal 340 which will be described later.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data identifier, connection information, and workload information associated with the connection information stored in the management database. In FIG. 9, the workload information is displayed numerically, but this is merely exemplary, and the display method of the workload information may be different according to the workload calculation method.

On the other hand, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of periodically receiving the data identifier and the like by the client terminal 360 in response to the periodic transmission request of the indexing server 350 by transmitting the data identifier and the like Is done.

Further, the data transmission system receives the connection state of the data providing terminal in step 804, and if it is determined in step 805 that the connection state of the data providing terminal is 'offline' based on the connection state. In step 806, the connection information for the data providing terminal and the workload information associated with the connection information are deleted from the management database means. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the case where the client terminal 340 provides access information for the data providing terminal in the offline state in which data cannot be provided.

The data transmission system receives a data identifier from the client terminal 340 in step 807, retrieves connection information corresponding to the data identifier from the management database means in step 808, and retrieves the retrieved connection by a predetermined criterion. One or more pieces of connection information are selected from the information and the selected connection information is transmitted to the client terminal 340 in step 811.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data transmission system retrieves the connection information corresponding to the received data identifier and selects one or more connection information among the retrieved connection information based on the workload information associated with the retrieved connection information. do.

For example, referring to FIG. 9, when the data identifier received from the client terminal 340 is "http://www.server.com/contents/kor0S75614.mpeg", the connection information corresponding to the data identifier Are '61 .83.6.167 ',' 211.174.2.167 'and' 211.28.96.8 '(in this embodiment, the IP address of the data providing terminal is used as the access information), and the workload information associated with each of the access information. Are '21', '35' and '78'. The data transmission system selects the connection information based on the workload information, and the method of selecting the connection information includes: i) a method of selecting one or more connection information in the order in which the associated workload is minimal, and ii) the associated job. Various methods may be used according to embodiments, such as a method of selecting connection information whose load is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

In this embodiment, '60 .83.6.167 ', which is access information about a data providing terminal having a minimum associated workload, is selected.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the data transmission system calculates the distance on the network between the data providing terminal and the client terminal 340, the retrieved based on the received data identifier based on the calculated distance Select one or more pieces of connection information from the connection information.

The distance on the network does not mean a physical distance, but a measure for determining whether to enable logically stable high speed data communication. The distance on the network may be calculated in consideration of various factors, and each element may be given a predetermined weight.

According to one embodiment of the invention, one of the elements is an IP Map. In general, a range of IP addresses that can be used by a country or each Internet Service Provider (ISP) is determined, and the IP map is a database obtained by analyzing an association between the country or each ISP and the IP address. Based on the IP map, for example, the client terminal 340 used in the Korean region provides the access information for the data providing terminal located in the Korean region, and the ISP of the KT is provided within the same Korean region. The client terminal 340 has a corresponding KT It provides the connection information for the in-data providing terminal.

In addition, the IP map may be provided not only from a macroscopic viewpoint such as a country or an ISP, but also if the data transmission method according to the present embodiment is to be used only within a specific company.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, one of the elements is whether the client is on the same LAN. Whether the client is on the same LAN can be determined using IP broadcast, so that clients located on the same network can be preferentially selected.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, one of the factors is the number of hops between the client terminal 340 and the data providing terminal. Hop count refers to how many times a device, such as a router, passes through a network. The larger the number of hops, the farther the distance on the network can be calculated. In addition to the number of hops, the distance over the network based on various known routing protocols can be calculated so that the nearest client can be selected first.

On the other hand, regardless of the distance on the network measured by each of the above factors, the actual data transfer rate between the client terminal 340 and the selected data providing terminal is really important, and according to another embodiment of the present invention, the client terminal 340 measures a data transmission rate with each data providing terminal corresponding to the access information based on the access information received from the indexing server 350 (in this case, the data using test data instead of the data). The transmission rate may be measured), and a data providing terminal to receive the data may be finally selected according to the measurement result.

That is, the method of selecting a data providing terminal includes i) a method of selecting based on a distance on a network between the client terminal 340 and the data providing terminal, and ii) the client terminal 340 using test data. And a method of measuring the actual data transmission rate between the data providing terminal and the data providing terminal and selecting the selected data based on the data transmission rate, or iii) using the method of i) and ii) together.

When the data providing terminal is selected by the above-described method, the data providing system transmits connection information about the data providing terminal to the client terminal 340 in step 811.

The client terminal 340 provided with the access information can access the data providing terminal using the access information to receive the data.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, if the data is paid data, the data transmission system receives the charging information for the data from a predetermined charging system in step 809, and in step 810 On the basis of this, it is determined whether the payment for the data is completed. As a result of the determination, when the payment for the data is completed, the data transmission system immediately transmits the access information about the data to the client terminal 340 in step 812, and when the payment for the data is not made Step 812 is performed after step 811 to perform the payment for the data.

The subject who needs to receive payment for the data may be a sender for transmitting the electronic mail or a recipient for receiving the data by using the data identifier.

Therefore, the electronic mail sender who wants to transmit the data to the client terminal 340 by using the electronic mail can be induced to perform the payment for the paid data.

On the other hand, steps 809 and 810 need only be performed after receiving the data identifier in step 807, and in the data transmission system by not performing step 808 when payment for the data is not made. Can reduce the work load.

In the above, the configuration performed in the client terminal 340 for receiving the electronic mail has been described. Hereinafter, a configuration performed by the transmitting client terminal 310 for transmitting the electronic mail including the data identifier will be described. Of course, in the data transmission method according to the present embodiment, the client terminal 310 and the transmitting client terminal 340 may both transmit and receive an e-mail including a data identifier, but for convenience of explanation, the e-mail It will be described by dividing into a transmitting client terminal 310 for transmitting the client terminal and a client terminal 340 for receiving the electronic mail.

10 is a flowchart for explaining each step performed at the transmitting client terminal 310 side according to the present embodiment.

In step 1001, the transmitting client terminal 310 uploads data to the data providing server 360, and transmits some or all of the content to be inserted into the electronic mail.

The data providing server 360 receives charging information related to the data to be uploaded from a charging system (not shown) in step 1002, and in step 1003, payment for the data is completed based on the charging information. Judge whether or not.

When the settlement of the data is completed as a result of the determination, the data providing server 360 receives and stores the data uploaded from the transmitting client terminal 310 in step 1004, and in step 1006, some or all of the contents. Receive On the contrary, if the determination is not completed for the data, the data providing server 360 prohibits the data from being uploaded from the transmitting client terminal 310 (step 1005) and receives some or all of the contents. It is desirable not to. In addition, when the settlement of the data is completed as a result of the determination, the step of providing a guide for the settlement may be further performed immediately before prohibiting the upload of the data.

That is, when the payment for the data is not made, the uploading of the data itself is prohibited, and therefore, a user who wants to send an e-mail including the data identifier must first pay the data.

The data providing server 360 generates a key based on some or all of the received content, generates a data identifier including the generated key, and transmits the generated data to the transmitting client terminal 310. Send an identifier (steps 1007 to 1009). The data providing server 360 also stores the generated data identifier in association with the data in a database means.

If the data identifier does not include the key, the user of the client terminal 340 that has received the e-mail including the data identifier can use the data identifier without the above-described payment process. There is this. Therefore, the data transmission method according to the present embodiment generates a data identifier based on the content (part or all) of the electronic mail, and the data identifier is only together with the contents of the electronic mail on which the key is generated. The problem is solved by allowing the data to be used as data for receiving the data.

The transmitting client terminal 310 receives the data identifier, inserts it into an electronic mail, and transmits the electronic mail to the client terminal 340 (steps 1010 to 1012).

The client terminal 340 receiving the e-mail including the data identifier including the key determines whether the contents of the e-mail correspond to the key (at this time, generating the key from the data providing server 360). A method for checking whether the key is generated from the contents of the e-mail using the same algorithm as the algorithm used for the purpose of the e-mail) can be used. Requesting information on the data providing terminal by transmitting the data identifier to the terminal 405.

If the key and the contents of the e-mail do not match, it may not be regarded as a legitimate user, so that step 405 is not performed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitting client terminal 34 may select data already stored in the data providing server 360 without uploading the data.

According to the present embodiment, the data providing server 360 may provide the transmitting client terminal 310 with a list of data stored in the database means (in this case, the method may be used to display the list on a predetermined web page). The user of the transmitting client terminal 310 may select data based on the list.

The data providing server 360 receiving the selection of data from the transmitting client terminal generates a data identifier associated with the selected data. At this time, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the data providing server 360 receives the charging information for the data from the charging system and determines whether the payment for the data is completed based on the charging information The data identifier associated with the selected data is generated only when the payment for the data is completed. Therefore, a user who wants to use the data transmission method according to the present embodiment should pay for the corresponding data.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitting client terminal 310 transmits a part or all of the contents of the electronic mail to be transmitted by inserting the data identifier to the data providing server 360, and the data providing server. 360 receives some or all of the above content and generates a key based thereon. Data providing server 360 also generates a data identifier associated with the data and including the generated key.

The data identifier generated as described above is transmitted to the transmitting client terminal 310, and the transmitting client terminal 310 transmits the data identifier to the client terminal 340 in the electronic mail.

Since each step performed by the client terminal 340 that has received the electronic mail including the data identifier including the key has already been described, a description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, the transmitting client terminal 310 may perform the data transmission method according to this embodiment using any electronic mail client program. Therefore, the user only needs to insert the data identifier into an e-mail created by any e-mail client program, and a separate function does not need to be implemented in the e-mail client program.

Hereinafter, a data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The data transmission method according to the present embodiment is performed in the data transmission system on the indexing server 350 side, and is characterized in that data is stored, transmitted, and the like in units of segments constituting predetermined data.

The data transmission system stores data identifiers, segment identifiers associated with the data identifiers, and connection information corresponding to the segment identifiers in predetermined management database means. The segment identifier may be an identifier for identifying a segment constituting the data, and the segment may include a header in which predetermined order information is recorded. The connection information is connection information for a data providing terminal that stores the segment.

The data transmission system receives a data identifier from the client terminal 340, and retrieves a segment identifier associated with the received data identifier from the management database means. In addition, the data transmission system transmits the retrieved segment identifier and the connection information corresponding to the segment identifier to the client terminal 340.

The client terminal 340 which has received the segment identifier and the access information receives the segment corresponding to the segment identifier by accessing the data providing terminal based on the access information. Since the client terminal 340 may receive the segment from the data providing terminal in parallel based on the segment identifier and the access information, the transmission time is shorter than that when receiving the data from one data providing terminal. Lose.

On the other hand, the above description has been made of the case of providing data through e-mail, but a similar concept may be used to provide data for use as a background music of a web page.

That is, a user who wants to receive data to use as a background music, a background image, etc. of his home page selects data from a list of data stored in the data providing server 360 and provides data in response to the selection. Receive a data identifier generated in association with the data from the server 350.

The user is provided with the connection information as described above by transmitting the data identifier to the indexing server 360 (in this case, the workload information associated with the connection information may be further provided). The user receives data associated with the data identifier from a data providing terminal based on the connection information. Accordingly, the data may be provided to the user at a high speed while preventing excessive load on the data providing server 360.

The present invention also provides a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the data transfer method according to each of the above-described embodiments. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

11 is an internal block diagram of a general-purpose computer system that can be employed to construct a data transmission system and the like according to the present invention.

Computer system 1100 includes one or more processors 1101 connected to a main memory including random access memory (RAM) 1102 and read only memory (ROM) 1103. The processor 1101 is also called a central processing unit (CPU). As is well known in the art, the ROM 1103 serves to pass data and instructions to the CPU unidirectionally, and the RAM 1102 typically transfers data and instructions bidirectionally. Used to. RAM 1102 and ROM 1103 may include any suitable form of computer readable media. Mass storage 1104 is bidirectionally coupled to processor 1101 to provide additional data storage capabilities and may be any of the computer readable recording media described above. The mass storage device 1104 is used to store programs, data, and the like, and is typically an auxiliary memory device such as a hard disk which is slower than the main memory device. Certain mass storage devices such as CD ROM 1106 may be used. The processor 1101 may include one or more input / output interfaces, such as a video monitor, trackball, mouse, keyboard, microphone, touchscreen display, card reader, magnetic or paper tape reader, voice or handwriting reader, joystick, or other known computer input / output device. 1105. Finally, the processor 1101 may be connected to a wired or wireless communication network through the network interface 1107. Through this network connection, the procedure of the method described above can be performed. The apparatus and tools described above are well known to those skilled in the computer hardware and software arts.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention.

According to the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method capable of providing a large amount of data to a recipient of the electronic mail, including multimedia data such as audio data, video data, etc. using electronic mail.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided a data transmission method capable of minimizing the load on the data providing server and the network of the data and reducing the transmission time of the data.

In particular, the present invention provides such data when the content of data inserted or attached to an e-mail, such as news, educational material, or e-mail sent for promotional purposes, or e-mail sent in a community, alumni association, or company, is the same or similar. The data can be efficiently provided to multiple users while reducing the load on the server.

As described above, although the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, which can be modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Modifications are possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only by the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof will belong to the scope of the present invention.

Claims (34)

In the data transmission method, Determining whether the electronic mail received by the client terminal includes a data identifier for referring to predetermined data; If the data identifier is included in the electronic mail, requesting access information for a data providing terminal by transmitting the data identifier to a predetermined indexing server; Receiving the access information for at least one data providing terminal from the indexing server; Requesting the data from the data providing terminal based on the access information; And Receiving the data from the data providing terminal Including, The indexing server is connected to the client terminal through a communication network, the data transmission method, characterized in that to maintain the connection information for the data providing terminal for storing predetermined data. The method of claim 1, And the data identifier includes URL information of a data providing server that is the source of the data. The method of claim 2, And the data providing terminal is a client terminal which receives and stores the data from the data providing server or the data providing server. The method of claim 1, Receiving the access information for at least one data providing terminal from the indexing server, Receiving connection information for at least one data providing terminal and workload information associated with the at least one data providing terminal from the indexing server, The step of requesting the data to the data providing terminal based on the access information, Selecting one or more pieces of connection information among the received connection information based on the workload information; And Requesting the data from the data providing terminal based on the access information. The method of claim 4, wherein The workload information is, Measuring workload calculation data of the client terminal; And Calculating workload information of the client terminal based on the measured workload calculation data; The calculated workload information is transmitted to the indexing server. The method of claim 5, The workload calculation data, The CPU load of the client terminal, the workload of the hard disk, the number of other client terminals connected to the client terminal to receive predetermined data, the total number of times of providing data to other client terminals connected to the client terminal, And at least one of network traffic between the client terminal and another client terminal. The method of claim 1, The step of receiving the data from the data providing terminal, Receiving the data from at least one data providing terminal selected from the at least one data providing terminal; Measuring a transmission rate of the data from the data providing terminal; And Stopping the reception from the data providing terminal and receiving the data from another data providing terminal when the transmission rate is less than a predetermined threshold. The method of claim 7, wherein If the transmission rate is less than a predetermined threshold, the step of stopping the reception from the data providing terminal and receiving the data from other data providing terminal, Receiving the data from the data providing server that is the source of the data, if there is no data providing terminal for transmitting data at a transmission rate higher than the threshold Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein If the transmission rate is less than a predetermined threshold, the step of stopping the reception from the data providing terminal and receiving the data from other data providing terminal, Receiving access information for another data providing terminal from the indexing server when there is no data providing terminal for transmitting data at the transmission rate higher than the threshold; And Receiving the data from the other data providing terminal based on the access information Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 1, The data is composed of one or more segments including a header in which predetermined order information is recorded, Receiving the access information for at least one data providing terminal from the indexing server, Receiving access information for at least one data providing terminal from the indexing server and a segment identifier for identifying a segment stored in the data providing terminal, The step of requesting the data to the data providing terminal based on the access information, Requesting the segment from the data providing terminal based on the access information and the segment identifier; The step of receiving the data from the data providing terminal, Receiving the segments in parallel from the at least one data providing terminal, Generating the data by combining the segments based on the segment identifiers Data transmission method further comprises. The method of claim 1, Storing the received data in storage means of the client terminal; And Transmitting a data identifier for identifying data stored in the storage means to the indexing server. Data transmission method further comprises. The method of claim 11, The step of transmitting to the indexing server, Tracking changes in the data stored in the storage means; Retrieving the data stored in the storage means when the change is detected; And Transmitting a data identifier corresponding to the retrieved data to the indexing server Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 11, The step of transmitting to the indexing server, Retrieving data stored in the storage space according to a predetermined period; And Transmitting a data identifier corresponding to the retrieved data to the indexing server Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 11, Detecting a change in the connection state when the connection state of the client terminal to the indexing server, the connection state includes an online state and an offline state; And And when the change of the connection state is detected, reporting the change of the connection state of the client terminal to the indexing server. The method of claim 14, The step of transmitting to the indexing server, Retrieving data stored in the storage space when a change of the connection state of the client terminal from the offline state to the online state with respect to the indexing server is detected; And Transmitting a data identifier corresponding to the retrieved data to the indexing server Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 2, Uploading predetermined data to the data providing server; Receiving a data identifier corresponding to the data from the data providing server; Inserting the data identifier into a predetermined electronic mail; And Transmitting the e-mail to another client terminal through a predetermined e-mail server; Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 16, In the data providing server, Receiving and storing the uploaded data in a predetermined database means; Generating a data identifier associated with the data; Storing the data identifier in association with the data in the database means; And Transmitting the data identifier to the client terminal The data transmission method, characterized in that is performed. The method of claim 17, The step of receiving and storing the uploaded data in the database means, Receiving charging information for the data from a predetermined charging system; Determining whether payment for the data is completed based on the charging information; Receiving and storing the uploaded data in the database means when payment for the data is completed Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 17, Transmitting some or all of the content inserted into the e-mail to the data providing server; In the data providing server, Receiving some or all of the content; And Further generating a key based on some or all of the above contents, Generating a data identifier associated with the data comprises generating a data identifier associated with the data and comprising the generated key. The method of claim 2, Inputting a selection of data to the data providing server; Receiving a data identifier in response to the input of the selection from the data providing server; Inserting the data identifier into a predetermined electronic mail; And Transmitting the e-mail to another client terminal through a predetermined e-mail server; Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 20, In the data providing server, Generating a data identifier associated with the selected data when receiving a selection of data from the client terminal; Transmitting the generated data identifier to the client terminal The data transmission method, characterized in that is performed. The method of claim 21, Generating a data identifier associated with the selected data, Receiving charging information for the data from a predetermined charging system; Determining whether payment for the data is completed based on the charging information; And Generating a data identifier associated with the selected data when payment for the data is completed Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 21, Transmitting some or all of the content inserted into the e-mail to the data providing server; In the data providing server, Receiving some or all of the content; And Further generating a key based on some or all of the above contents, The step of generating a data identifier associated with the data, Generating a data identifier associated with the data and comprising the generated key Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 19 or 23, When the data identifier is included in the e-mail, the step of transmitting the data identifier to a predetermined indexing server to request access information for a data providing terminal, Determining whether the contents of the electronic mail correspond to the key based on a key included in the data identifier; And As a result of the determination, if the contents of the e-mail correspond to the key, requesting access information for a data providing terminal by transmitting the data identifier to the indexing server; Data transmission method comprising a. In the data transmission method, Storing a data identifier and connection information corresponding to the data identifier in predetermined management database means, wherein the connection information is connection information for a data providing terminal that stores data; Receiving a data identifier from a given client terminal; Retrieving connection information corresponding to the received data identifier from the management database means; And Transmitting the retrieved connection information to the client terminal; And the data providing terminal is a data providing server which is the source of the data, or a client terminal which receives and stores the data from the data providing server. The method of claim 25, Further storing the workload information associated with the connection information in the management database means, Retrieving access information corresponding to the received data identifier from the management database means, Retrieving connection information corresponding to the data identifier from the management database means; And Selecting one or more connection information from the retrieved connection information based on the workload information associated with the retrieved connection information; The step of transmitting the retrieved access information to the client terminal, And transmitting the selected connection information to the client terminal. The method of claim 25, Receiving connection state information of the data providing terminal from a predetermined data providing terminal; And Deleting the access information for the data providing terminal from the management database means when the connection state of the data providing terminal is offline; Data transmission method further comprises. The method of claim 25, Storing the data identifier for identifying data in the management database means, and the connection information corresponding to the data identifier, Receiving a data identifier and access information for the data providing terminal from a predetermined data providing terminal; And Storing the received data identifier and the access information in the management database means. The method of claim 28, Receiving a data identifier and access information for the data providing terminal from a predetermined data providing terminal, Receiving the data identifier and access information for the data providing terminal from the data providing terminal at predetermined intervals; And Updating, by the management database means, a data identifier corresponding to the access information with the received data identifier Data transmission method comprising a. The method of claim 29, Receiving a data identifier and access information for the data providing terminal from a predetermined data providing terminal, And deleting the access information corresponding to the data identifier from the management database if the access information is not received after the predetermined period has elapsed. The method of claim 25, If the data is paid data, receiving charging information for the data from a predetermined charging system; And Determining whether the payment for the data is completed based on the charging information; And transmitting the retrieved connection information to the client terminal, transmitting the retrieved connection information to the client terminal only when payment for the data is completed. The method of claim 25, Calculating a distance on a network between the data providing terminal and the client terminal; Selecting access information corresponding to a predetermined criterion from the searched access information based on the calculated distance; The transmitting of the retrieved connection information to the client terminal comprises transmitting the selected connection information. In the data transmission method, Storing data identifiers, segment identifiers associated with the data identifiers, and connection information corresponding to the segment identifiers, in predetermined management database means; Receiving a data identifier from a given client terminal; Retrieving a segment identifier associated with the received data identifier from the management database means; And Transmitting the retrieved segment identifier and access information corresponding to the segment identifier to the client terminal. Including, The segment identifier is an identifier for identifying a segment constituting the data, and the access information is access information for a data providing terminal that stores the segment. 34. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 23 and 25 to 33.