JP2001117808A - Decentralized management system for document directory and its acquiring method, and computer- readable recording medium recorded with program allowing computer to implement same method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the scale of the whole system small and to lighten the load on each server which holds information of a document directory. SOLUTION: A document directory formed in graph structure with pieces of category information including information on arrangement on a network N is divided, and the divided document directories are decentralized and arranged on servers 3 and 4 connected to the network N.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a distributed management system for a document directory which provides a document directory service for classifying and organizing useful information arranged on the Internet or an intranet into hierarchical categories and providing the same. The present invention relates to a method and a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method is recorded.

[0002] In recent years, both socially and individual companies have been moving toward sharing information using the Internet or an intranet. In addition, although it has become easy for a general user to freely open a Web page, it is difficult to find useful information. For this reason, a mechanism for systematically managing information on the Internet or an intranet such as a document directory service is required, and an efficient and effective implementation method is required. The pages of the document directory service are organized by category, and are a very effective system as a tool for searching for desired useful information.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a document directory service is provided, a document directory is copied to all of a plurality of servers connected to a network, and an access load of a document directory from a client is distributed to each server. I was The document in the document directory referred to here means a multimedia document, not only a simple text but also various information such as a still image or a moving image including an image and a sound, and includes a document as information obtained by integrating these. .

[0004] With the spread of the Internet in recent years, structured documents using HTML, SGML, and the like have been generally used, and can be stored in a distributed manner for each logical structure of the document. For example, in a structured document processing device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-208557, a document structure dispersed in a plurality of files is integrated as one document structure, and one structured document is generated.

[0005]

However, on a network such as the Internet or an intranet, it is important to find desired information based on the document directory, and the amount of information in the document directory is enormous. . If only one server holds and manages the information amount of this document directory, there is a problem that access to this one server is concentrated and congested, so that the function of the document directory of the main body cannot be performed.

On the other hand, in order to eliminate this problem, it is conceivable that each of a plurality of servers connected to the network holds and manages the same document directory. However, information of the document directory held by the entire system is considered. There was a problem that the volume became enormous, the scale of the entire system became large, and an efficient system could not be constructed.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
Document directory distributed management system capable of reducing the size of the entire system and reducing the load on each server holding document directory information, a method for obtaining the same, and a computer readable recording program for causing a computer to execute the method It is intended to provide a recording medium.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 divides a document directory structured into a graph by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network, and stores the divided directory in the network. The divided document directories are distributed and arranged on a plurality of connected servers (corresponding to 3 and 4 in FIG. 1).

According to the present invention, a document directory structured into a graph by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network is divided, and the divided document directories are stored in a plurality of servers connected to the network. They are distributed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the plurality of servers correspond to category information requested by a client connected to the network, of the category information held by the server. A management control unit (corresponding to the management control units 7 and 8 in FIG. 1) for returning related category information to the client is provided.

According to the present invention, the management control means of the plurality of servers, in response to the category information requested by the client connected to the network, stores the related category information of the category information held by the own server to the client. Reply to.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the client connected to the network redirects to another server using the category information returned from the client requesting the category information. (Corresponding to 11 and 12 in FIGS. 4 and 7)
Is further provided.

According to the present invention, the redirecting means of the client redirects to another server using the category information returned from the client requesting the category information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the management control means of the plurality of servers (corresponding to the management control units 27 and 28 in FIG. 7) receives a request from a client connected to the network. The obtained category information indicates the relative position between the categories (the category “A” in FIG. 2).
Is the information indicating the position of the category “D” as viewed from the category “C” in the case of having a sibling relationship between the categories “C” and “D” having the parent as the parent, the category information is changed to the information indicating the absolute position. It is characterized by conversion and processing.

According to this invention, when the category information requested by the client connected to the network is information indicating the relative position between the categories, the management control means of the plurality of servers absolutely stores the category information. The information is converted into information indicating the position and processed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the plurality of servers use category information held by the own server based on category information requested by a client connected to the network. And a management control means (corresponding to 37 and 38 in FIG. 10) for accessing another server having the requested category information, acquiring the requested category information and returning it to the client. Features.

According to the present invention, the management control means of the plurality of servers is configured to perform the requested category information on the basis of the category information held by the server in response to the category information requested by the client connected to the network. Is accessed, and the requested category information is obtained and returned to the client.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method for acquiring a document directory in which a document directory structured in a graph by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network is distributed and arranged on a plurality of servers,
A request process (corresponding to S1 and S3 in FIG. 3) in which a client (corresponding to 1 and 2 in FIG. 1) connected to the network requests desired category information, and the server that has received the desired category information includes And a reply step (corresponding to S2 and S4 in FIG. 3) of returning the relevant category information of the category information held by the server to the desired category information to the client. .

According to the present invention, the client connected to the network requests the desired category information in the requesting step, and the server, which has received the desired category information in the replying step, sets the desired category information in the server. On the other hand, related category information of the category information held by the server is returned to the client.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the client which has requested the desired category information redirects to another server using the category information returned from the server. 5 (corresponding to S12a of FIG. 8 and S22a of FIG. 8).

According to the present invention, the client requesting the desired category information in the redirecting step
The server is redirected to another server using the category information returned from the server.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, in the reply step, when the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between the categories, The category information is converted into information indicating the absolute position and processed (step S in FIG. 9).
206).

According to the present invention, when the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between the categories, the reply step converts the desired category information into information indicating an absolute position. And process it.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, in the replying step, the requested category information requested by the client is determined based on the category information held by the server. An access step for accessing another server having the desired category information (corresponding to S32 in FIG. 11), and an information return step for returning the desired category information obtained in the access step to the client (FIG. 11) S33) and
It is characterized by including.

According to the present invention, in the access step, the desired category information requested by the client is compared with the other server having the requested desired category information based on the category information held by the own server. In the information return step, the desired category information obtained in the access step is returned to the client.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a desired category information requested by a client connected to a network is received, and a corresponding category of the category information held by the server is compared with the desired category information. Processing for returning information to the client (S in FIG. 3)
2, a document directory in which a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for operating S4) is graph-structured by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network is distributed and arranged on a plurality of servers. Implemented on the plurality of servers on the network.

According to the present invention, each server receives desired category information requested by a client connected to the network, and compares the desired category information with a related category of the category information held by the server. Information is sent back to the client.

[0028] In the invention according to claim 11, in the above-mentioned invention, when the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between categories, the desired category information is absolutely stored. It is converted into information indicating the position and processed (corresponding to step S206 in FIG. 9).
It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, when the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between categories, each server converts the desired category information into information indicating an absolute position. And process it.

[0030] According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the desired category information requested by the client is set to
An access step (corresponding to S32 in FIG. 11) of accessing another server having the requested desired category information based on the category information held by the server, and the desired category acquired in the access step An information returning step of returning information to the client (S3 in FIG. 11)
3), and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for operating the program is stored on a plurality of servers by distributing document directories in a graph structure with a plurality of category information including layout information on a network. Implemented on the plurality of servers on the network.

According to the present invention, each server has the desired category information requested by the client in the access step based on the category information held by the server. An access is made to another server, and the desired category information obtained in the access step is returned to the client in an information return step.

Further, the invention according to claim 13 is a step of requesting the server for desired category information (corresponding to S11 in FIG. 5 and S21 in FIG. 8), and using the category information returned from the server. (S12a of FIG. 5, S12 of FIG. 8)
22a), and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for operating the program is stored in a plurality of servers by distributing document directories in a graph structure by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network. And implemented on the client on the network.

According to the present invention, each client requests desired category information from the server in a request step, and redirects to another server using the category information returned from the server in a redirect step. Like that.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the accompanying drawings, a distributed management system for a document directory according to the present invention, a method for acquiring the same, and a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method is recorded. Embodiments will be described.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a distributed management system of a document directory according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In this document directory distributed management system, at least a plurality of clients 1 and 2 and a plurality of servers 3 and 4 are connected to a network N such as the Internet or an intranet.
The plurality of servers 3 and 4 correspond to hosts A and B, respectively. The plurality of servers 3 and 4 have databases 5 and 6 respectively storing directory data 5a and 6b of the document directory. The databases 5 and 6 are connected to the management controllers 7 and 8, respectively. The management controllers 7 and 8 search the data of the document directories requested by the clients 1 and 2 from the databases 5a and 6a via the network N. Then, it performs management control of converting the data into an appropriate HTML file and returning it via the network N.

Here, hosts A and B store directory data 5a and 6a in databases 5 and 6 as shown in FIG.
The data as shown in is stored. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of distributed management of a document directory. In FIG.
The data of one document directory is divided into a plurality, here two, and distributed to the hosts A and B respectively.
The structure of one document directory has a hierarchical graph structure having one root and a category as an intermediate node.

In FIG. 2, the category "A" is assigned to the route.
"B" is connected to the lower level, category "A" is connected to the categories "C" and "D", and category "B" is connected to the lower level.
Category "E" connects to the lower level. Further, category “C” is connected to category “F” having categories “H” and “I” as lower categories, and category “G”, and category “G” is lower in category “G”. Connecting.
Here, the category information including the roots and the categories “A”, “B”, “D”, and “E” in one document directory is distributed to the server 3 serving as the host A, and the categories “C”, The category information including “F”, “G”, “H”, and “I” is distributed to the server 4 as the host B.

The data structure of the category includes information on the sub-category and the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the sub-category.
ator), a leaf including attributes such as a title and a description. For example, the data structure of the category “A” is as follows: Children (subcategory) Host B: Category “C” Local: Category “D” Data URL, title, description That is, the categories (sub-categories) of the children of the category "A" include the category "C" and the category "D", and the information of the category "C"
The information of the category “D” indicates that the information is allocated to the host A (local), and as the information of the own category “A”, the URL, title, description, and the like are held as “Data”.

When a category is represented by a URL,
From the URL indicating the route, the URL indicating the desired category
Is represented by a character string obtained by adding “/” to the end of a character string obtained by separating each category name on the path leading to “/”. Since the document directory has a graph structure, there may be a plurality of URLs indicating categories. That is, there are a plurality of paths.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of a method of acquiring a distributed managed document directory by the distributed document directory management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, one of the clients 1 and 2 (hereinafter, referred to as a client 1) designates the category “A” and sends the category information on the category “A” to the host A.
(S1). In this case, client 1
Is trying to obtain directory information for root / category "A". Upon receiving this request, the management control unit 7 of the host A makes the directory data 5a of the database 5
Search for.

As shown in FIG. 2, since the host A manages the category "A", the category "A" has subcategories of the categories "C" and "D". "," 2 "is sent to the client 1 (S2). At this time, in the information D2, the category “C” is managed by the host B, and the category “D”
Is managed by the host A. That is, the host A sends category information D2 of host B: category “C” host C: category “D” URL “1” URL “2” to the client 1.
Thereby, the client 1 was able to obtain the category information D2 regarding the category “A”.

Thereafter, based on the category information D2,
When the client 1 wants to acquire the category information on the category “C”, the client 1
And requests the host B for category information on the category "C" (S3). The request for the category information related to the category “C” is requested to the host B because it is known that the category “C” is managed by the host B based on the category information D2 acquired from the host A. It is. The management control unit 8 of the host B searches the directory data 6a of the database 6 similarly to the management control unit 7 of the host A.

As shown in FIG. 2, since the host B manages the category "C", the category "C" has subcategories of the categories "F" and "G", and the URL "3""," 4 ", and categories" F ",
The category information D 4 indicating that any of “G” is managed by the host B is sent to the client 1.
As a result, the client 1 can obtain the category information D4 regarding the category “C”. Similarly, for example, when trying to obtain category information on the category “F”, the host “B” managing the category “F” receives the category “F” in the same manner as the above-described processing.
The request for the category information specifying "."

Here, a description will be given of a change in the communication amount of the host managing the document directory root, that is, the document directory of the host A, by the distributed management of the document directory according to the first embodiment. In calculating this traffic, the following items are assumed. That is,
(1) Category data is divided equally into N (natural number of 2 or more) hosts, (2) Access to all categories is equal, and (3) All accesses are specified by a path from the root. (4) The size of data of one category is C bytes, (5) The size of data indicating a path is P bytes, which is larger than C bytes, (6) Request Is R times / sec.

The traffic Q of the host A based on this assumption
(Byte) is the communication amount of the request (R * P) per unit time (second) and the communication amount (R * C /
N) and the traffic (R * (1-1 /
N) * P) and can be expressed by the following equation. That is, Q = R * P + R * C / N + R * (1-1 / N) * P. On the other hand, the traffic QQ of the host A when the document directories are not distributed as shown in the first embodiment is as follows: QQ = R * (P + C)

Here, R = 100 (times / second), P = 10
Assuming that 0 (byte / request), C = 5000 (byte / category), and N = 10 (units), Q = 100 * 100 + 1000 * 5000/10 + 100 * (1-1 / 10) * 100 = 69000 (bytes / second) ), QQ = 100 * (100 + 5000) = 510000 (bytes / second), and the traffic Q in the case of distributed arrangement is 13.5% as compared with the traffic QQ in the case of no distributed arrangement. The communication traffic of the host A is greatly reduced. In particular, when the size C of the category data is sufficiently large,
The communication amount is reduced by the number N of the divided hosts.

According to the first embodiment, the information on the document directory is distributed to the plurality of servers 3 and 4, so that the amount of information on the document directory to be held by each server is reduced. Even when the information about the document directory is newly increased, the management of the system can be performed flexibly without greatly affecting the scale of the entire system, and the load on each server can be reduced. In particular, the traffic of a server having a route is greatly reduced.

(Embodiment 2) Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment described above,
Basically, it is assumed that the client knows the host managing the category information related to the desired category, and in particular, by sequentially requesting the category information to the host managing the route, the desired Although the category information of the category can be obtained, in the second embodiment, even when the desired category information is requested to a host that does not manage the desired category, the desired category can be easily obtained. Category information can be obtained.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document directory distributed management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The clients 1 and 2 in the distributed management system for document directories shown in FIG. 4 have redirection units 11 and 12 for performing the redirection function of the HTTP protocol, respectively, and the other configuration is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is the same as the configuration of the distributed management system for the document directory in FIG. However, the management control units 17 and 18
Are different from those of the management control units 7 and 8.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a description will be given of a method for obtaining a distributed managed document directory according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, first, the client 1 specifies the root / category “A” / category “C” / category “F” in order to acquire the category information of the category “F”. (S11). Upon receiving the request for the category information, the management control unit 17 of the host A searches the directory data 5a of the database 5, but the host A itself manages only the category information up to the category "A". The category information relating to "F" cannot be searched.

For this reason, the host A acquires that the host B manages the category “C” below the category “A” by a path from the root, and uses the redirect function of the client 1 that is the request source. The information D12 for searching for the category information of the category "F" is sent to the client 1 (S12). That is, host B: sends information D12 of category “C” / category “F” to client 1.

The client 1 that has received the information D12
Sends the information D13 specifying the category “C” / category “F” to the host B using the redirect function of the HTTP protocol (S12a), and requests the category information (S13). Then, the management control unit 18 of the host B receiving the information 13 searches the directory data 6a of the database 6. Since the categories “C” and “F” are managed by the host B, the category information on the category “F” can be searched. That is, host B: category "H" host B: category "I" URL "5" URL "6" is sent to client 1, and subcategories of category "F" include categories "H" and "I". Each is managed by the host B, and notifies the client 1 that the respective URLs are "5" and "6".

Thus, even if the client 1 makes a request for the category information related to the category “F” to the host A that does not manage the category “F”, the client 1 uses the redirect function of the HTTP protocol to request the category related to the category “F”. Information can be obtained. For example, when the category “F” is managed by the host C (not shown), the host B automatically requests the host C for the category information using the redirect function of the HTTP protocol of the client 1. Let

Further, referring to FIG. 6, a processing procedure in the host A shown in FIG. 5 will be described. The same processing is performed not only for the host A but also for another host B. In FIG. 6, the management control unit 17 of the host A determines whether a request for obtaining desired category information has been issued from the client 1 (step S101). If there is no acquisition request, the process of step S101 is repeated until there is an acquisition request, and if there is an acquisition request (step S10
(1, YES), it is further determined whether directory data of the requested category exists in the database 5 (step S102). Here, when there is directory data of the requested category (step S102,
If YES, the category information regarding the requested category is returned to the client 1 (step S10).
6), end this processing.

On the other hand, when the directory data of the requested category does not exist in the database 5 (step S102, NO), it is further determined whether the search for the host having the directory data of the requested category is successful. A determination is made (step S103). If the host search is not successful (step S103, NO), the lowest category in the list indicating the path to the requested category is extracted, and the process proceeds to step S103 (step S104).

This is because the management control unit 7 starts searching from the lowest category in the list. For example, the list shown in the information D11 shown in FIG.
The category is “A” / category “C” / category “F”, and the management control unit 7 first searches for the category “F”. Since the category “F” is not managed by the host A,
The category “F” is removed, and a search for the category “C” is performed. Since the search for the category "C" does not succeed, the category "C" is removed and the search for the category "A" is performed.

In step S103, if the search for the host having the directory data of the requested category is successful (step S103, YES), the list of the parts owned by the host is removed from the received request list, and the request is deleted. The host name having the directory data is added to the category, and a reply is sent to the client 1 (step S105), and the process ends.

For example, in the information D11 shown in FIG. 5, since the host A succeeds in the search for the category "A", the host A updates its own list, that is, the root / category "A" to the original list of the root / category "A". Category "A" /
Information D12 in which a category "C" / category "F" is removed from the category "C" / category "F", and a host B as a host name is added thereto, that is, host B: category "C" / category " F ”for Client 1
Reply to. Then, the HTTP that the client 1 has
The request of the category “C” / category “F” is automatically made to the host B by the protocol redirection function.

According to the second embodiment, when the host that has received the category information acquisition request does not manage the specified category, the category that can use the HTTP protocol redirection function of the requesting client is used. The information is converted and returned to the client, and the client automatically requests the specified host for the category information by the redirection function, so that the operability on the client side is improved, and the client is flexible and reliable. Category information can be obtained.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The designation of the desired category in the above-described second embodiment uses the list indicating the absolute positional relationship of the path in one direction.
In this configuration, even when a desired category is specified using a list indicating a relative positional relationship, desired category information can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document directory distribution system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 7, the configuration is the same as that of the document directory distribution system shown in FIG. 4, except for the processing by the management control units 27 and 28 of the document directory distribution system.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a description will be given of a method of obtaining a distributed managed document directory according to the third embodiment of the present invention. First, the client 1 sends information D21 designating a desired category to the host B by a list having a relative positional relationship (S21). This relative positional relationship is, for example, the relationship between the category “C” and the category “D” shown in FIG. When the category “D” is designated from the position of the category “C”, the category “C” /. . / Category "D" is specified and specified. The category information of the category "C" stores Parent Host A: root / category "A" Children Host B: category "F" Host B: category "G" Data URL, title, and description.

Therefore, the category "C" /. . The management control unit 28 of the host B that has received the request to acquire the / category "D" searches the directory data 6a of the database 6 and determines that the parent category of the category "C" is the root / category "A" in the host A. You can know that there is. As a result, host B receives the route / category "A" /
An instruction to send the category “D” to the host A is sent to the client 1 (S22). That is, host A: sends information D22 of root / category “A” / category “D” to client 1.

The client 1 receives the received information D22
Using the redirect function of the HTTP protocol (S
22a) The information D23 of the category “A” / category “D” is sent to the host A (S23).
Since the host A that has received the information D23 has the information of the category “A” / category “D”, the host B, which is the category information of the category “D”, has the following information: host B: category “G” URL “7” Information D24 is returned to the client 1 (S2
4).

Further, a processing procedure in the host B shown in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. The same processing is performed not only for the host B but also for another host A. In FIG. 9, the management control unit 28 of the host B determines whether or not there has been a request to obtain a desired category from the client 1 (step S20).
1). If there is no acquisition request, the process of step S201 is repeated until there is an acquisition request, and if there is an acquisition request (step S201, YES), whether or not directory data of the further requested category exists in the database 5 It is determined whether or not it is (step S202). here,
If there is directory data of the requested category (step S202, YES), category information relating to the requested category is returned to the client 1 (step S210), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the directory data of the requested category does not exist in the database 5 (step S202, NO), it is further determined whether the search for the host having the directory data of the requested category is successful. A determination is made (step S203). If the host search is not successful (step S203, NO), the lowest category in the list indicating the path to the requested category is extracted (step S204). Here, it is determined whether or not the extracted upper category indicates the parent category (step S205). If the category is not the parent category (step S205, NO),
As in the second embodiment, the process moves to step S203.

In step S205, if the upper category indicates the parent category, for example, if it indicates a relative positional relationship such as a sibling relationship, the parent category is extracted and the extracted category is referred to as the parent category. (Step S206), and the routine goes to Step S203.

If the search for the host having the directory data of the requested category is successful in step S203 (YES in step S203), it is further determined whether or not the search for the parent category is successful (step S203). Step S207). If the search for the parent category is successful, the current list is returned to the client 1 (step S208), and the process ends. For example, if the requested list is of category "C" /. . When the list of the host A: root / category “A” / category “D” is obtained by the replacement process in step S206 for the / category “D”, the list is returned to the client 1.

On the other hand, if the search for the parent category is not successful in step S203 (step S20)
As in the third embodiment, (3, NO) removes the list of the parts owned by its own host from the received request list, adds the host name having the directory data to the requested category, and Is returned (step S209), and this processing ends. After that, the list sent from the host B in step S208 or step S209 is automatically sent to the host A by the HTTP protocol redirection function of the client 1.

According to the third embodiment, when the category information acquisition request list specifies a relative positional relationship such as a sibling relationship, the client uses the designated sibling relationship information to store the category information. It is converted into a list that can use the redirect function of the HTTP protocol, and requests for category information are made to the specified host in the list, so the category information acquisition request is described with a relative positional relationship. Even in such a case, the category information can be obtained flexibly and reliably, and the operability on the client side can be improved.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above-described second and third embodiments, the category information requested by the client can be automatically acquired by using the redirect function of the HTTP protocol of the client 1. However, in the fourth embodiment, the client 1 The host automatically acquires the category information requested by the client and returns the result to the client 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a distributed management system for document directories according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the distributed management system for document directories shown in FIG. 10 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but the processing of the management control units 37 and 38 is different from that of the management control units 7 and 8.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a description will be given of a method of acquiring a distributed managed document directory according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, first, the client 1 specifies the root / category “A” / category “C” / category “F” to acquire the category information of the category “F”. Request for category information (S31).

Host A receiving this category information request
The management control unit 37 searches the directory data 5a of the database 5, but since the host A itself manages only the category information up to the category "A", the host A searches for the category information related to the category "F". Can not. For this reason, the host A receives the category “A”
The following category “C” is acquired by the path from the root to be managed by the host B, and is directly requested to the host B managing the category “C” (S32). That is, information D32 specifying the category “C” / category “F” is transmitted to the host B.

Upon receiving the information D32, the management control unit 38 of the host B searches the directory data 6a of the database 6 in the same manner as the request from the client 1, and retrieves the category information D33 of the category "F", that is, the host information. B: Category H Host B: Category I URL “5” Acquires URL “6”. Then, the information D33 is returned to the requesting host A (S33). Upon receiving the reply of the information D33, the host A sends the information D33 to the client 1 that is the acquisition request source (S34). As a result, the client 1 can acquire desired category information by the process of automatically acquiring the category information of the host A.

Further, the processing procedure in the host A shown in FIG. 11 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition,
Similar processing is performed not only for the host A but also for the other host B. In FIG. 12, the management control unit 17 of the host A
Determines whether there is a request to obtain desired category information from the client 1 (step S301). If there is no acquisition request, step S3 is performed until there is an acquisition request.
01, and if there is an acquisition request (step S301, YES), it is further determined whether directory data of the requested category exists in the database 5 (step S302). Here, when there is directory data of the requested category (step S
(302, YES), the category information relating to the requested category is returned to the client 1 (Step S).
307), this process ends.

On the other hand, when the directory data of the requested category does not exist in the database 5 (step S302, NO), it is further determined whether or not the search for the host having the directory data of the requested category is successful. A determination is made (step S303). If the host search is not successful (step S303, NO), the lowest category in the list indicating the path to the requested category is extracted, and the process proceeds to step S303 (step S304). This is because the management control unit 37 starts searching from the lowest category in the list.

In step S303, when the search for the host having the directory data of the requested category is successful (step S303, YES), the list of the parts owned by the host is removed from the received request list, and the request is deleted. A host name having the directory data is added to the category, and the category information is requested to the host B having the host name (step S3).
05). Thereafter, when the category information is returned from the requesting host B, the returned category information is returned to the requesting client 1 (step S30).
6), end this processing.

According to the fourth embodiment, the host that has received the category information acquisition request automatically acquires the category information and returns the acquired category information to the acquisition requesting client. With the function, the operability on the client side is improved, and the category information can be acquired flexibly and reliably.

[0080]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a document directory structured as a graph by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network is divided and connected to the network. Since the divided document directories are distributed and arranged on a plurality of servers, the data amount of the document directories to be managed by each server is reduced, the load on each server is reduced, and in particular, the communication having the document directories is performed. This has the effect of significantly reducing the volume and not significantly affecting the size of the entire system.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the management control means of the plurality of servers can determine whether the category information requested by the client connected to the network is related to the category information of the own server. Since the category information to be sent is returned to the client, even if the document directories are distributed, the client side can sequentially obtain the desired category information in the document directory, and the flexible category can be obtained. There is an effect that information can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the client redirection means redirects to another server using the category information returned from the client requesting the category information. There is an effect that the operability of is further improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the management information of the plurality of servers is such that the category information requested by the client connected to the network is information indicating a relative position between the categories, Since the category information is converted into information indicating an absolute position and processed, even if a request for obtaining category information including information indicating a relative positional relationship between categories is obtained, a desired category is obtained. In addition, the redirection function can be used, and a flexible category information acquisition process can be performed, and the operability on the client side can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the management control means of the plurality of servers may be configured to perform the management of the category information requested by the client connected to the network on the basis of the category information held by the server. Since another server having the requested category information is accessed and the requested category information is obtained and returned to the client, the operability on the client side is significantly improved. Play.

According to the present invention, the client connected to the network requests the desired category information in the requesting step, and the client connects to the network in the replying step.
Since the server that has received the desired category information returns the related category information of the category information held by the server to the client with respect to the desired category information, the document directory is distributed. Even in the case of the arrangement, the client side can sequentially obtain desired category information in the document directory, and this has an effect that flexible category information can be obtained.

According to the present invention, in the redirecting step, the client requesting the desired category information is redirected to another server using the category information returned from the server. Therefore, there is an effect that the operability on the client side is further improved.

According to the invention of claim 8, in the reply step, when the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between categories,
Since the desired category information is converted into the information indicating the absolute position and processed, even if the request for obtaining the category information including the information indicating the relative positional relationship between the categories, the desired category is not changed. It is possible to obtain the category information and to use the redirect function, so that it is possible to flexibly obtain the category information and to improve the operability on the client side.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the requested category information requested by the client in the access step is compared with the requested desired category information based on the category information held by the server. Is accessed to the other server having the above, and the desired category information acquired in the access step is returned to the client in the information return step, so that the operability on the client side is remarkably improved. To play.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention,
Each server receives desired category information requested by a client connected to the network, and returns, to the client, category information related to the desired category information among the category information held by the server. Therefore, the amount of data in the document directory to be managed by each server is reduced, the load on each server is reduced, and especially the communication volume with the document directory is significantly reduced, and the size of the entire system is increased. This has the effect of not having a significant effect.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention,
When the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between categories, each server converts the desired category information into information indicating an absolute position and processes the information. Even in the case of a category information acquisition request including information indicating the relative positional relationship between categories, a desired category can be acquired and a redirect function can also be used, so that flexible category information acquisition processing can be performed. And the operability on the client side can be improved.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention,
Each server accesses the other server having the requested desired category information based on the category information held by the server for the desired category information requested by the client by the access step, Since the desired category information acquired in the access step is returned to the client in the reply step, the operability on the client side is significantly improved.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention,
Since each client requests desired category information from the server in a requesting step, and redirects to another server using the category information returned from the server in a redirecting step, operation on the client side is performed. The effect that the property is further improved is produced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a distributed management system of a document directory according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distributed arrangement of document directories.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a method for acquiring a document directory distributed and managed by the distributed document directory management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a distributed management system for document directories according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a method for obtaining a distributed managed document directory according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a host A shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a distributed management system for document directories according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a method for obtaining a distributed managed document directory according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a host B illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a distributed management system for document directories according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a method for obtaining a distributed managed document directory according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in a host A illustrated in FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 client 3, 4 server 5, 6 database 5a, 6a directory data 7, 8, 17, 18, 27, 28, 37, 38 management control section 11, 12 redirect section N network

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A document directory having a graph structure divided by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network is divided, and the divided document directories are distributed and arranged on a plurality of servers connected to the network. Characterized document directory distributed arrangement system. 2. A management control means for returning, to the client, category information requested by a client connected to the network, the category information being related to the category information held by the server. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the client connected to the network further includes a redirect unit for redirecting to another server using the category information returned from the client requesting the category information. Document directory distributed arrangement system. 4. When the category information requested by a client connected to the network is information indicating a relative position between categories, the management control means of the plurality of servers determines the absolute position of the category information. 4. The distributed document directory arrangement system according to claim 2, wherein the document directory is converted into information to be processed. 5. The server according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of servers respond to category information requested by a client connected to said network based on category information held by said server and to other servers having said requested category information. 2. The distributed system of document directories according to claim 1, further comprising a management control unit that accesses the client and obtains the requested category information and returns the requested category information to the client. 6. A method for acquiring a document directory in which a document directory structured in a graph by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network is distributed and arranged on a plurality of servers, wherein a client connected to the network is Requesting the category information, and the server receiving the desired category information returns, to the client, category information related to the desired category information among the category information held by the server. A method for obtaining a document directory, comprising: a reply step. 7. The document according to claim 6, further comprising a redirecting step in which the client requesting the desired category information redirects to another server using the category information returned from the server. How to get the directory. 8. In the replying step, when the desired category information requested from the client is information indicating a relative position between categories, the reply step converts the desired category information into information indicating an absolute position. The method according to claim 6, wherein the document directory is processed. 9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the replying step includes accessing, with respect to the desired category information requested by the client, another server having the requested desired category information based on the category information held by the own server. 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: an access step of performing the following: and an information return step of returning the desired category information acquired in the access step to the client. 10. A document directory in which a graph directory is structured by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network stores a program to be executed by a computer on the plurality of servers on the network distributed and arranged on the plurality of servers. A computer-readable recording medium, which receives desired category information requested by a client connected to the network, and, for the desired category information, relevant category information of the category information held by the server. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for operating a process for returning to the client is recorded. 11. When the desired category information requested by the client is information indicating a relative position between categories, the desired category information is converted into information indicating an absolute position and processed. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for operating the processing according to claim 10 is recorded. 12. A document directory structured in a graph by a plurality of category information including arrangement information on a network stores a program to be executed by a computer on the plurality of servers on the network distributed on the plurality of servers. A computer-readable recording medium, wherein for a desired category information requested by the client, an access is made to another server having the requested desired category information based on the category information held by the own server. A computer-readable recording medium that records a program for operating the following: an access step of performing the following; and an information returning step of returning the desired category information obtained in the accessing step to the client. 13. A computer readable program storing a program for causing a computer on a network to distribute a document directory structured by a plurality of categories including information on an arrangement on a network to clients on the network distributed on a plurality of servers. Requesting the server for desired category information, and redirecting to another server using the category information returned from the server. A computer-readable recording medium that has been recorded.