JP2003030087A - Content distribution network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speedily and inexpensively distribute contents which an individual user prefers. SOLUTION: In a contents distribution network system, a plurality of user terminals 1400 are contained and request contents are distributed to the respective user terminals. The system is provided with a contents distribution control means 1100 controlling the distribution of the contents in the system, a plurality of contents storage means 1300 which are arranged between the contents distribution control means and the user terminals and store the contents that the users prefer and a content distribution destination managing means 1200 monitoring the content preferring situation of the user and managing a contents distribution destination to the contents storage means. The content distribution control means arranges the content whose preference degree of the user is the highest in the contents storage means nearest to the pertinent user terminal based on an instruction from the contents distribution managing means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a content distribution network system, and more particularly to a content distribution network system that accommodates a plurality of user terminals and distributes requested content to each user terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique and shows a configuration of a conventional content distribution network system. In the figure, 1900 is an origin server that stores and holds the original content, 1800 is a general public network such as the Internet, 1700 is a content distribution management server that manages the distribution of content, 160
Reference numeral 0 is a content cache server for temporarily storing content, and 1400 is a user terminal acting on behalf of the user's content request processing.

Conventionally, a cache technology for improving the delivery response to the user is known, and a pull (Pu) method is used as a content delivery method using this network.
11) type and push type.

In the pull type, the content cache server 1600 receives a content request from the user terminal 1400 on behalf of the origin server 1900, and the content cache server 1600 takes out the requested content from the origin server 1900 and outputs it to the user terminal 140.
Content cache server 1
Content data is stored in 600. Then, in response to the next request for the same content, the distribution response is improved by directly distributing the content data stored in the content cache server 1600 to the user.

In the push type, contents are stored in the content cache server 1600 by the content distribution management server 1700 in advance before a content request is issued from the user terminal 1400. It is possible to improve the delivery response to the first content request from the terminal. However, the distribution of the content to the content cache server 1600 by the content distribution management server 1700 is unilaterally performed based on the plan of the content provider or the access provider, which is the side providing the content. This plan mainly includes the density of user terminals, locality, advertising strategy of content providers, effective use of resources of access providers, and the like.

[0006]

Since the push-type content deployment is aimed at optimization for the content provider and the access provider, the content deployment that reflects the tastes of individual users is not performed.

Even if the content requested by the user is surely cached by the pull type, the content data is discarded if the content is not used for a certain period of time in order to effectively use the storage area of the cache device. Will end up. Therefore, the user has to go back to the origin server for the content that has not been used for a certain period of time.

Further, when the user moves and logs in from a different content cache server 1600, it is often necessary to take a procedure to get the content to the origin server 1900.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a content distribution network system capable of quickly and inexpensively distributing the content preferred by each user. It is in.

[0010]

The above-mentioned problem is solved, for example, by referring to FIG.
It is solved by the configuration of. That is, the content distribution network system of the present invention (1) includes a plurality of user terminals 1
In a content distribution network system that accommodates 400 and distributes requested content to each user terminal,
Content deployment control means 1100 for controlling content deployment in the system, a plurality of content storage means 1300 for storing content that the user likes by intervening between the content deployment control means and the user terminal, and user content The content deployment control means 1 is provided with a content deployment destination management means 1200 for monitoring the taste situation and managing the content deployment destination in the content storage means.
The reference numeral 100 is for allocating content having a high user preference to the content storage means 1300 closest to the user terminal based on an instruction from the content allocation destination management means 1200. Therefore, for each content the individual user likes, an optimal distribution response can be obtained for each user.

Preferably, in the present invention (2), the content allocation control means 110 in the above invention (1).
0 hierarchically manages a plurality of content storage units 1300 in the order of closer proximity to the user terminal 1400, deploys contents whose user preference exceeds a predetermined level in the content storage unit closest to the user terminal, and stores other contents. It is provided in the higher-level content storage means.

Therefore, for each content that each user particularly likes, each user U_ is provided by allocating the content to the nearest content storage means S_1, S_2, S_4.
The optimum distribution response is obtained for a to U_d, and the content that each user next prefers is provided in the upper (common) content storage unit S_3 to enable the effective content storage memory (network resource). It can be used.

Preferably, in the present invention (3), the content deployment destination management means 12 in the above-mentioned present invention (1).
00 manages to delete from the content storage unit 1300 the content provided only to the user terminal that has logged out of the system or to the user terminal that does not respond to a message that is periodically sent from the system. Therefore, it is possible to effectively eliminate the waste of storing unnecessary content.

The above problem can be solved by, for example, the configuration of FIG. That is, the content distribution network system of the present invention (4) is a content distribution network system that accommodates a plurality of user terminals 1400 and distributes requested content to each user terminal, and content distribution control for performing content distribution control in the system. Means 2
100, a plurality of content storage units 2300 and 2390 for storing content that the user likes by intervening between the content deployment control unit and the user terminal, and monitoring the user's movement status to the content storage unit. Content deployment destination management means 2 for managing the content deployment destination
200, and the content deployment control means 2100,
Based on an instruction from the content deployment management unit 2200, the user's favorite content is moved and deployed to the content storage unit closest to the user terminal. Therefore, for each content that each user likes, an optimal distribution response that takes into account the user movement can be obtained.

Preferably, in the present invention (5), the content allocation control means 210 in the above invention (4).
0 hierarchically manages a plurality of content storage units 2300 and 2390 in order of increasing distance from the user terminal, and for a user with low mobility, the user's favorite content is the lowest layer content storage unit 23 closest to the user.
90, and the higher the mobility, the higher the content storage means 2300.

For example, since the user U_a who accesses only from the office can determine that the mobility is low, the favorite content of the user U_a is distributed in the content storage means 2390 in the lowest layer closest to the user (office). Optimize the response. On the other hand, since the user U_b who accesses from both the office and the home can determine that the mobility is high, the user U_b's favorite content should be placed in the content storage unit 2300 in the upper layer close to the user (office and home). Thus, convenience of user access and effective use of the content storage means (network resource) can be achieved.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A plurality of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition,
Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a content distribution network system according to the first embodiment, and shows a case where content is deployed based on a user's preference. In the figure, 1900 is an origin server in which the original content is stored, 1
800 is a general public network such as the Internet. Further, 1000 is a content distribution network system according to the embodiment, in which a content distribution management server (corresponding to the content deployment control means of FIG. 1) 1100 and a user profile management server (FIG. 1).
1), a plurality of hierarchical content cache servers (corresponding to the content storing means in FIG. 1) 1300, and a plurality of user terminals 1400.

The content distribution management server 1100 includes a content cache database 1110 for storing various contents, and an origin server 190.
Content from the content cache database 1110 and stores the content in the content cache database 1110, and based on an instruction from the user profile management server 1200, the predetermined content is stored in the content cache database 1110.
Content cache server 13
00, and predetermined content is deleted from the predetermined content cache server 1300.

User profile management server 1200
Is a user profile information database 1210 for managing the preference content of each user and the degree of preference thereof.
And manages the preference content of each user and the degree of preference thereof.

The content cache server 1300 is
According to the instruction from the content distribution management server 1100,
Store and delete predetermined contents.

The user terminal 1400 is a device acting on behalf of the user's content request, and may be a general personal computer or the like. However, the agent program 1410 is provided inside, and the program 1410 transmits the password and the user ID input by the user for network login to the user profile management server 1200, and requests the user's content request from the content cache server 1300. To the user profile management server 1200, and a process of responding to a hello message from the user profile management server 1200.

With such a configuration, focusing on a user who uses the user terminal U_a, contents having a very high degree of preference of this user are arranged in the nearest content cache server S_1, while contents having a high degree of preference are provided. Is deployed in the higher-level content cache server S_3. In addition, the deployment position of the content is dynamically changed based on the change of the preference degree of the user.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the content distribution management server 1100 and the user profile management server 1 will be described.
The internal configuration of the content cache server 200 and the content cache server 1300 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows the content distribution management server 1100.
It is a block diagram of. In the figure, a content cache database 1110 stores the content data acquired from the origin server 1900. Communication processing unit 1
120 performs communication control processing with the user profile management server 1200, the content cache server 1300, and the origin server 1900. Storage unit 1130
Is a content ID-URL correspondence table 1131,
A content deployment destination table 1132 is provided, and setting of each table is performed via the input / output processing unit 1140.
Note that these tables will be described later.

Further, the content distribution processing unit 1160 is
Based on the instruction from the user profile management server 1200, the content cache database 1 is searched for predetermined content while referring to the content ID-URL correspondence table 1131 and the content deployment destination table 1132.
The process of taking out from 110 and delivering to a predetermined content cache server 1300 and the process of delivering predetermined content to the user terminal 1400 in response to a content request from the user terminal 1400 are performed. Then, the request response notification processing unit 1150 uses the user terminal 1400.
When a predetermined content is delivered to the user terminal 1400 in response to the content request from the user, the user profile management server 1200 is notified of that fact.

FIG. 4 shows the user profile management server 12
It is a block diagram of 00. In the figure, a user profile information database 1210 stores and manages user profile data 1211 related to network login and user profile data 1212 related to contents. The setting of these profile data is performed via the input / output processing unit 1230. Note that these profile data will be described later. Communication processing unit 1
The 220 performs communication control processing with the content distribution management server 1100, the content cache server 1300, and the like.

Further, the network login processing unit 125.
0 is the user agent 14 in the user terminal 1400.
A process of instructing the content delivery management server 1100 to deploy a content for the user after receiving the network login request from the user 10 and authenticating the user who has transmitted the request, and receiving the logout notification Processing for instructing the content distribution management server 1100 to delete the content deployed for this purpose, and processing for periodically sending a Hello message to the user agent in order to detect the user terminal 1400 that has logged out without a logout notification. I do.

Further, the content access collection processing section 12
Upon receiving a request response notification from the content distribution management server 1100 or the content cache server 1300 indicating that the content has been distributed to the user terminal 1400, the processing 60 updates the user profile data 1212 regarding the content. Then, the content access analysis processing unit 1240 refers to the user profile data 1211 regarding the network login and the user profile data 1212 regarding the content, calculates the access frequency to the predetermined content, and the user profile data 12 regarding the content.
In response to the processing for updating 12 and the change in access frequency, the content distribution management server 1100 is instructed to redeploy the content.

FIG. 5 shows the content cache server 1300.
It is a block diagram of. In the figure, the storage unit 1310 is
It stores content data 1312, which is a content group distributed from the content distribution management server 1100, and a retained content management table 1311 for managing the content retained in the content data 1312. The retained content management table 1311 will be described later. The communication processing unit 1320 performs communication control processing with the content distribution management server 1100 and the user terminal 1400.

Further, the content distribution processing unit 1340 is
A predetermined content is held in response to a content request from the user terminal 1400. Content management table 1311
, And delivers to the user terminal 1400 if there is a hit, and if there is a mistake, the content cache server 1300 or the content delivery management server 1100 at a higher level.
For transferring the request to the content distribution management server 1
The process of responding to the content deployment instruction 100 is performed. Then, when the request response notification processing unit 1330 responds to the content request from the user terminal 1400 and delivers a predetermined content to the user terminal 1400, the request response notification processing unit 1330 performs a process of notifying the user profile management server 1200 of that fact.

Next, examples of various tables and data structures will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 shows the content ID-
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a URL correspondence table 1131. This table 1131 is an original UR of the content stored in the content cache database 1110.
6 is a table for associating L with a content ID for use in the content distribution network 1000 of the present invention. When the content distribution management server 1100 acquires the content from the origin server 1900 and stores it in the content cache database 1110, the content distribution network 1
In 000, a unique ID is given and writing is performed in this table.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of user profile data 1211 related to network login.
In the figure, in the item of user ID 6011, user IDs of users who are permitted to access the network are registered. The item of password 6012 represents a password used when each user logs in to the network.
The item of the server ID 6013 of the access point indicates the server ID of the content cache server 1300 to which the user terminal 1400 of each user is directly connected. Figure 2
For example, the user terminal U_a is the server S_1, the user terminal U_b is the server S_1, and the user terminal U_c is the server S_.
2. The user terminal U_d is directly connected to the server S_4. The item of the network access log 6014 of the past four times records the date when each user logged in to the network for the past four times. This log information is
It is used when calculating the access frequency to a predetermined content, and the number of times can be changed according to the required accuracy of the access frequency calculation.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of user profile data 1212 relating to contents. This profile data is configured in a table format for each user. Each table is composed of a content ID item, an access frequency item to the content item, and an access date and time item of the last four access times to the content item. An example of profile data of the user U_a will be described below.

In the item of content ID, the ID of the content the user U_a likes is registered. In this example,
These are CID_a (for example, news), CID_b (for example, weather forecast), CID_c (for example, sports), and CID_d (for example, movie). These contents are set in advance on the system side in consideration of the user's preference or based on the user's application.

The access frequency term indicates the access frequency of each content of the user U_a, and the user profile table 12 regarding network login.
Network access log of the past 4 times in 11 (date)
Information of 6014 and main profile data 12 described later.
It is calculated from the information of 12 past 4 access logs (dates and times). In this example, the ranks are A, B, and C,
It means that A has the highest access frequency and C has the lowest access frequency. The method of calculating the access frequency will be described later. In the item of the access log of the past four times, the date and time when the user accessed each content is recorded for the past four times. When the user accesses a predetermined content, the date and time is newly added and the oldest record is deleted.

Next, an example of the access frequency calculation method will be described. First, the oldest access date (D_a1 in this example) is extracted from the information of the network access log 6014 of the past four times regarding the user U_a of the user profile data 1211 regarding network login, and the period from that date to the present is D (= current − D_a1).
Next, user profile data 1 related to the content
For each content ID of the profile data relating to the user U_a of 212, the number of access log information of the past four times within the range of the period D is checked. That is, C
In the case of ID_a, the number of Ta_a1 to Ta_a4 within the period D is checked. If this number is 4, for example, it is ranked A, if it is 2 or 3, it is ranked B, and if it is 0 or 1, it is ranked C. With this, the access frequency to each content of each user can be defined.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the content deployment destination table 1132 according to access frequency. The purpose of using this table is to set the content deployment destination to the content cache server 1 in a layer according to the access frequency (preference) of the user.
It is to deliver to 300. The meaning of this table will be described below by taking the user U_a as an example.

According to the above three tables, the content cache server 1300 to which the user U_a is directly connected is S_1, and the favorite content is CI.
It is known that they are D_a, CID_b, CID_c, and CID_d, and their preference degrees are A, A, C, and B. Here, the item A of the content deployment destination table 1132 is searched for S_1 which is the content cache server 1300 to which the user U_a is directly connected. The line in which S_1 is found as a result of the search (the first line in this example) is the content deployment designation destination for the user U_a. That is, in this example, the contents CID_a and CID_b having the access frequency A are provided in the content cache server S_1 directly connected to the user terminal U_a, and the contents CID_d having the access frequency B is one higher than the content cache server S_3. , And the content CID_c having the access frequency C is deployed in the higher-level content cache database (DB) 1110.

FIG. 10 shows the content cache server S_.
6 is a diagram showing an example of a held content management table 1311 in FIG. In the figure, the item of content ID is
The content cache server (S_1) 1300 indicates the ID of the content held in the content data 1312 of the storage unit 1310. In this example, the contents CID_a and CID_b are provided for the users U_a and U_b. The number of content users section indicates how many users each content is provided for. In this example, since the content CID_b is provided for the users U_a and U_b, this item is 2
This item is 1 because the other items are deployed only for one of the users.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The operation of this embodiment includes the following three parts. The first part is a process of deploying content for the user when the user logs in to the network, and the second part updates the access frequency to the content in response to the user's content request. , The process of changing the content deployment in response to the update,
The third part is a process of deleting the content deployment for the user when the user logs out from the network. Next, the processing of each of the above parts will be described using the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In addition,
The specific example used below will be described focusing on the user U_a.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a process for deploying content for a user when the user logs in to the network. First, the user terminal 140
0 agent program 1410 responds to the user's network login request with a password and user ID.
Is entered, the password and user ID entered there are transmitted to the user profile management server 1200, and a network login request is made (step S104).
00).

In this embodiment, the password and the user ID are used as the conditions for authenticating the user in the network login, but if it is assumed that only one user uses the user terminal 1400, the network login condition is used. As the terminal-specific I such as IP address
The agent program 1410 may automatically transmit D.

Upon receiving the network login request, the network login processing unit 1250 of the user profile management server 1200 retrieves the user profile data 1211 related to network login stored in the storage unit 1210 and combines the received user ID and password. Determine if exists
(Procedure S10200). If the received combination of the user ID and the password does not exist in step S10200, the agent program 1410 of the user terminal 1400 is requested to retransmit the password and the user ID (step S10210). On the other hand, the procedure S10
If the received combination of user ID and password exists in 200, the current date is added to the corresponding network access log column of the user profile data 1211 related to network login, and the oldest date is deleted (step S10220). ).

Next, the user profile data 1212 relating to the content of the relevant user is retrieved from the storage unit 1210 (step S10230), and all content IDs are retrieved.
Then, the server ID of the access point of the user profile data 1211 relating to the access frequency and network login is transmitted to the content distribution management server 1100, and a content deployment request is made (step S10240). The content indicated by the content ID transmitted here is
It is the content to be deployed. In this example, the content I
D and CID_a = A as access frequency, CID_b =
A, CID_c = A, CID_d = B, and S_1 is transmitted as the server ID of the access point.

The content distribution processing unit 1160 of the content distribution management server 1100 which has received the content deployment request.
Uses the received content ID, access frequency, access point server ID, and content deployment destination table 1132 of the storage unit 1130 to map each deployment target content and the content cache server 1300 that deploys them (procedure S10100). ). In this example, the record of S_1 which is the server ID of the access point is detected from the content disposition destination table 1132, the content of the access frequency A is S_1, the content of the access frequency B is S_3, and the content of the access frequency C is which content. It will not be delivered to the cache server 1300 either. Therefore, the content CID
_a and CID_b are S_1, and the content CID_d is S
It will be deployed in _3.

The procedure after this is the same as step S10100.
The process is performed for each of all the content cache servers 1300 that are the target of the content deployment obtained in. That is, the content distribution processing unit 1160 of the content distribution management server 1100 inquires of the content cache server 1300 to be deployed about the holding status of the deployment target content (step S10110). In this example, the content cache server S_1 is inquired about the content CID_a and CID_b, and the content cache server S_3 is inquired about the content CID_d.

The content cache server 1300 having received the inquiry searches the held content management table 1311 of the storage unit 1310 for the content ID for which the inquiry has been made (step S10300). It should be noted that this procedure is performed for all of the inquired content IDs, and when the content ID is detected, 1 is added to the column of the number of content users of the retained content management table 1311 (step S10310). Step S103
If all the inquired content IDs are detected in 00, an invalid content ID is transmitted to the content distribution management server 1100 in order to notify that all of the inquired content IDs are held. Do
(Step S10340). On the other hand, the undetected content I
If there is D, the content ID is returned to the content distribution management server 1100 (step S1033).
0). In this example, the invalid content ID is transmitted in step S10340, but special information for notifying that all the inquired contents are retained may be generated and transmitted.

Upon receiving the content ID transmitted in step S10330 or S10340, the content distribution processing unit 1160 checks whether the received ID is valid (step S10120). If the ID is invalid in the examination in step S10120, the process is completed (step S10140). On the other hand, if the ID is valid in the inspection in step S10120, the content ID-URL correspondence table 1131 of the storage unit 1130 is referred to, and the U of the content is returned from the returned content ID.
The RL is derived, the content indicated by the URL is extracted from the content cache database 1110, and is associated with the content ID and distributed to the corresponding content cache server 1300 (step S10130).

The content cache server 1300 that has received the content records the content ID and URL in the retained content management table 1311 for each received content, sets the column of the number of content users to 1, and then stores the content. It is stored in the content data 1312 of the section 1310 (step S10350). By the above procedure, the contents are distributed to each user.

Next, the processing of updating the access frequency to the content in response to the user's content request and changing the content allocation upon receiving the update is roughly classified into the following two. They are a process of delivering a predetermined content to a user in response to a user's content request, a process of updating a content access log of a user profile, and a process of periodically recalculating the content access frequency and redeploying the content. Is. Hereinafter, these processes will be described with reference to FIGS.
3 and FIG. 14 will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a process of delivering a predetermined content to the user in response to the user's content request and updating the content access log of the user profile. First, the content request from the user is transferred to the directly connected content cache server 1300 by the agent program 1410.
(Procedure S1140). In this example, the content request of the user U_a will be transferred to the content cache server S_1. In the present embodiment, the request for the content is made by the URL specified by the user, but it may be transmitted after being converted into the content ID or the like.

The content distribution processing unit 134 of the content cache server 1300 that has received the content request.
0 searches the requested content from the held content management table 1311 by URL (step S113).
00). If the URL is not detected in step S11300, the request is transferred to the higher-level server (step S11310). The transfer of this request is repeated until the content distribution management server 1100 is reached. In this example, S_1 transfers the request to S_3, and S_3 transfers the request to the content distribution management server 1100. On the other hand, if the URL is detected in step S11300, the content is extracted from the content data 1312 and the content is distributed to the user (step S11300).
320) After that, the request response notification processing unit 1330 transmits the content ID of the distributed content, the user ID of the distribution destination, and the distribution date and time to the user profile management server 1200 to notify the request response (step S11330).

If the content request reaches the content distribution management server 1100 by the above step S11310, the content distribution management server 1100 is executed.
The content distribution processing unit 1160 of the content ID-
The URL is searched for the requested content from the URL table 1131 (step S11100). If the URL is detected in step S11100, the corresponding content is retrieved from the content cache database 1110 and distributed to the user (step S11120). on the other hand,
If the URL is not detected in step S11100, the corresponding content is acquired from the origin server 1900 (step S11110), the content is stored in the content cache database 1110, and the content ID is assigned to the content. After registering in the ID-URL correspondence table 1131 in association with the URL (step S11111), the content is distributed to the user (step S11120). Next, the request response notification processing unit 1150 transmits the content ID of the distributed content, the user ID of the distribution destination, and the distribution date and time to the user profile management server 1200, and makes a request response notification (step S11130).

The above step S11130 or step S1133
The content access collection processing unit 1260 of the user profile management server 1200, which has received the notification sent by 0, extracts the profile data of the received user ID from the user profile data 1212 regarding the content (step S11200). next,
The received content ID is searched from the profile data extracted in step S11200 (step S112).
10). In step S11210, the content ID
If is not detected, a new record is added to the profile data extracted in step S11200, and the content ID, the received delivery date and time and access frequency C are registered (step S11220). On the other hand, step S11
In 210, if the content ID is detected, the received delivery date and time is added to the access log column of the profile data extracted in step S11200,
The oldest date and time is deleted (step S11230).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process for recalculating the content access frequency and redeploying the content on a regular basis. Note that this processing is performed by the content access analysis processing unit 12 of the user profile management server 1200.
40 automatically and periodically at predetermined intervals. First, the content access analysis processing unit 1240 recalculates the access frequency of the user profile data 1212 related to the content (step S1).
2200). The details of step S12200 will be described below with reference to FIG.
4 will be described.

The oldest date is taken out from the network access log column for the user in the user profile data 1211 for network login (step S12201). In this example, since the user U_a is focused on, D_a1 is extracted. The subsequent procedure is repeated for all the content IDs registered in the user profile data 1212 regarding the content of the user.

A predetermined content ID is selected from the user profile data 1212 relating to the content of the user, and the access log is extracted (step S1220).
2). In this example, the predetermined content ID is CID_a.
When is selected, the information to be extracted is Ta_a1, Ta_a2,
It becomes Ta_a3 and Ta_a4. Next, the step S122.
Of the access logs extracted in 02, the above step S1
Check the number of things after the date taken out in 2201
(Procedure S12203, Procedural S12205) If the number is 4 or more, the new access frequency is determined to be A (Procedure S1.
2204), if the number is 2 or more and less than 4, it is determined that the new access frequency is B (step S12206), and the number is 2
If it is less than this, the new access frequency is determined to be C (step S12207). That is, in this example, Ta_a1 to Ta_a
Of the four, the number of objects in the range from D_a1 to the present is checked, and the access frequency as described above is determined by the number.

Next, the above step S12204 or step S
12206 or the new access frequency determined in step S12207 and the access frequency (old access frequency) registered in the user profile data are compared (step S12).
208). If the comparison is made in step S12208, the process returns to step S12202, and the process for the next content ID is performed, or if the process for all content IDs is completed, this step S12200.
Ends, and the process proceeds to step S12220 in FIG.

On the other hand, if they do not match in the comparison in step S12208, the content ID, the new access frequency, and the old access frequency are temporarily stored (step S12209),
After updating the access frequency of the user profile data to the new access frequency (step S12210), if the processing for all the content IDs is completed, this step S12200 is ended, otherwise, the step S1220.
Return to 1 and repeat the process. The above is the detailed description of the step S12200.

Returning to FIG. 13, next, the above step S1220.
Check the change in access frequency recalculated with 0 (procedure S1
2220), if there is no change, the process ends (step S).
12240). On the other hand, if there is a change, the procedure S
The content ID to be changed stored in 12209, the new and old access frequencies thereof, and the access point server ID related to the user of the user profile data 1211 related to the network are transmitted to the content distribution management server 1100 to make a content redeployment request ( Step S12230).

The content distribution management server 1100, which has received the content redeployment request, branches into two processes. One is a process of redeploying the content based on the new access frequency, and the other is a process of deleting the deployed content based on the old access frequency. Note that the process of redeploying the content based on the new access frequency is the same as the process after step S10100 in FIG. 11, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, in the process of deleting the contents arranged based on the old access frequency, first, the content cache server 1300 in which the contents to be deleted are arranged is determined based on the old access frequency (step S12150). For details of this procedure, see step S121.
The same as 00. Next, the content deletion request is transmitted to all the content cache servers 1300 determined in step S12150 by designating the corresponding content IDs to be deleted (step S12160).

The content cache server 1300, which has received the content deletion request, subtracts 1 from the number of content users having the deletion target content ID in the retained content management table 1311 (step S12360), and determines that the number of content users is 0 or less. If so, the information of the content ID is deleted from the table and the corresponding content is deleted from the content data 1312.
By the above procedure, content redeployment is performed for each user.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a process for deleting the content deployment for a user when the user logs out from the network. This process is started by the following two occasions. One is when the user is notified of logout from the network, and the other is when there is no response from the user terminal 1400 to the hello message sent by the user profile management server 1200. In the former case, it occurs when the agent program 1410 of the user terminal 1400, which has issued the network logout request from the user, sends a logout notification together with the user ID to the user profile management server (step S14400).

In the latter case, the network login processor 125 of the user profile management server 1200.
This occurs by detecting the user terminal 1400 that does not reply to the hello message sent by 0 even after a lapse of a predetermined period (step S14200). This hello message is periodically detected by the agent program 141 in order to detect the user terminal 1400 that has logged out without issuing the logout notification due to a failure or the like.
0, and the agent program 1410 that receives the reply sends a reply to the user terminal 1
It is confirmed that 400 is not notified and is not logged out.

According to the above process start trigger, the network login processing unit 1250 corresponds to the user ID obtained by the procedure S14400 or the procedure S14200 from the user profile data 1211 related to the network and the user profile data 1212 related to the content. Access point server ID
And all the content IDs and their access frequencies are extracted (step S14210), the server ID of the access point, the content IDs and the access frequencies are transmitted to the content distribution management server 1100, and a request for content deletion is made (step S14220). ).

Upon receiving the content deletion request, the content distribution processing section 1160 proceeds to step S1215 of FIG.
0 to the same process as step S12160 (step S14
150, procedure S14160). Next, step S14160.
Content cache server 130 that received the request of
0 performs the same processing as steps S12360 to S12370 of FIG. 13 (steps S14360 and S1437).
0). By the above procedure, the content provided for each user is deleted. As described above, by providing the content deployment based on the taste of each user, it becomes possible to distribute the content in consideration of the user taste.

In the first embodiment, the contents are deleted every logout, but it is not necessary to do so. In that case, at the next user login, the access frequency is recalculated, and if there is a change, a process of redeploying the content (process similar to FIG. 13) is performed.

In addition, in the calculation of the access frequency in the first embodiment, by setting all the ranks to be A rank, the content of the user's taste can be placed in the server closest to the user.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a content distribution network system according to the second embodiment, showing a case where a user is supposed to move. In the figure, 1900 is an origin server in which original contents are stored, 1800 is a general public network such as the Internet, and 2000 is a content distribution network system according to the second embodiment.

Content distribution network system 20
00 includes a content distribution management server 2100, a user profile management server 2200, a content cache server 2300, and an access point content cache server 2390. The content cache server 2300 and the access point content cache server 2390 have a hierarchical structure, and in the example of FIG. 16, the lowest level server is S_1, S_2, S_.
4, S_5, the upper layers thereof are S_3 and S_6, and the content distribution management server 2100 is located at the uppermost layer.

The second embodiment is based on the assumption that the user 1500 will move.
Decides to access the network from a fixed and unspecified user terminal 1400. User 1
The user terminal 1400 may be moved so that the user terminal 500 can use the specific user terminal 1400. Even in this case, it can be realized similarly to the second embodiment described below.

The content distribution management server 2100 has a content cache database 2110 for storing content. The main operation is to acquire the content from the origin server 1900 and store it in the content cache database 2110.
The mobility of the user is analyzed based on the instruction of the user profile management server 2200, the predetermined content is retrieved from the content cache database 2110, and is delivered to the predetermined content cache server 2300 or the access point content cache server 2390, and the predetermined content Is deleted from the predetermined content cache server 2300 or the access point content cache server 2390.

Further, the user profile management server 22
00 is a user profile information database 2210
Have. Its main operation is to analyze and manage the statistical characteristics of each user's favorite content and user movement.

The content cache server 2300 is
According to the instruction from the content distribution management server 2100,
Store and delete predetermined contents. The access point content cache server 2390, in addition to the operation performed by the content cache server 2300,
It mediates processing related to user network login. The user terminal 1400 is a device acting on behalf of the user's content request, and is a general computer or the like W.
It is sufficient if it has an eb browser. That is, the agent program 1410 is deleted from the user terminal 1400 of this example, and the access point content cache server 2390 undertakes its function. Further, since the user terminal 1400 does not have the agent program 1410, the content distribution network system 2000 can change the user terminal 1400.
Can be separated. This eliminates the requirement for the user terminal 1400, and has the advantage that the type of terminal does not matter.

With such a system configuration, the purpose of the second embodiment is to deploy the content based on the mobility of the user using the content distribution network system 2000. That is, according to the mobility of the user, preference content is provided to a server at the lowest layer closer to the user for users who move less, and preference content is provided to the upper layer as the mobility is higher, thus accessing the content. To improve efficiency.

Next, the internal structure of the content distribution server 2100, the user profile management server 2200, the content cache server 2300, and the access point content cache server 2390 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 17 shows the content distribution management server 210.
It is a block diagram of 0. In the figure, a content cache database 2110 stores content data acquired from an origin server. Communication processing unit 2120
Is a user profile management server 2200, content cache server 2300, or origin server 1900.
Communication control processing with. The storage unit 2130 stores and manages the content ID-URL correspondence table 2131 and the server tier management table 2132. The setting of these tables is performed via the input / output processing unit 2140. Note that these tables will be described later.

Further, the content distribution processing unit 2160 is
According to an instruction from the mobility analysis processing unit 2170, which will be described later, referring to the content ID-URL correspondence table 2131, the predetermined content is retrieved from the content cache database 2110 and delivered to the predetermined content cache server 2300 and the access point content cache server 2390. Processing and user terminal 1
In response to a content request from 400, a process of delivering a predetermined content to the user terminal 1400 is performed. Then, the mobility analysis processing unit 2170 refers to the statistical information of the user transmitted from the user profile management server 2200 and the server tier management table 2200, calculates the mobility of the user, and determines the deployment destination of the content.

FIG. 18 shows the user profile management server 2
2 is a block diagram of 200. FIG. In the figure, a user profile information database 2210 stores and manages a user profile data table 2211 and network access log data 2212. The setting of these profile data is performed via the input / output processing unit 2230. The profile data will be described later. The communication processing unit 2220 performs communication control processing with the content distribution management server 2100, the content cache server 2300, and the like. Profile management server processing unit 2
270 performs a content deployment request process on the content distribution management server 2100. Then, the network login processing unit 2250 receives the user's network login request transferred by the access point content cache server 2390 and authenticates the user.

FIG. 19 shows the content cache server 230.
It is a block diagram of 0. In the figure, a storage unit 2310
Stores content data 2312, which is a content group distributed from the content distribution management server 2100, and a retained content management table 2311 that manages the content retained in the content data 2312. The held content management table 2311 will be described later. The communication processing unit 2320 performs communication control processing with the content distribution management server and the user terminal 1400. Then, the content distribution processing unit 2340 determines that the user terminal 1
In response to a content request from 400, a predetermined content is searched for in the retained content management table 2311, and if hit, it is delivered to the user terminal 1400, and if it is missed, a higher content cache server 2300 or content delivery management server 2100. And a response to the content distribution instruction from the content distribution management server 2100.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of the access point content cache server 2390. In the figure,
The storage unit 2310, the communication processing unit 2320, and the content distribution processing unit 2340 are the same as those shown in FIG. The user authentication processing unit 2391 mediates the user authentication processing in response to the network login request from the user terminal.

Next, examples of various tables and data structures will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 to 25. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the content ID-URL correspondence table 2131. This table shows the content distribution management server 2100.
Is a table for associating the original URL of the content stored in the storage unit 2130 of the content cache database 2110 and the content ID used in the content distribution network 2000 of the present invention. The content distribution management server 2100 acquires the content from the origin server 1900, and acquires the content cache database 21.
At the time of storage in 10, each content is given a unique ID in the content distribution network 2000 and written in this table.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the network access log data 2212. This data is stored and managed in the storage unit 2210 of the user profile management server 2200, and is composed of a table for each user. In each table, the user has the network 2 of the present invention.
The server IDs of the access point content cache servers 2390 connected to access 000 are recorded in chronological order.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the user profile data table 2211. This table is stored and managed in the storage unit 2210 of the user profile management server 2200, and has a record structure for each user. The user ID 7011, the password 7012, the favorite content 7013, the deployment destination determination effective ratio 7014,
It is composed of each item of the number of valid deployment destination logs 7015 and the previously determined deployment destination server ID 7016.

In the item of favorite content 7013, the content ID of the content that the user likes is registered, and the content shown here is the deployment target content for the user. The content ID registered in this item is pre-determined by the user's designation or the like. The term “deployment destination determination effective ratio 7014” is one of the parameters for determining the deployment destination server of the content for a predetermined user, and is determined in advance by the user's designation or the like. The method of determining the content deployment destination will be described later.

The item 7015 for the number of effective logs for determining the allocation destination indicates the number of effective data items of the access log used when determining the allocation destination server of the content for a predetermined user, and is determined in advance by the user's designation or the like. To do. The method of determining the content deployment destination will be described later.
And, the item of the deployment destination server ID 7016 determined last time is
The server ID of the content cache server 2300 or the access point content cache server 2390 determined by the previous content deployment destination determination processing is shown. That is, the content for a given user is
It means that it has already been deployed to the server indicated in this item.

FIG. 24 shows the server hierarchy management table 2132.
It is a figure which shows an example. This table is stored and managed in the storage unit 2130 of the content distribution management server 2100, and shows the hierarchical structure of the servers. This table has a structure of records for each tier, and shows the server IDs of the servers belonging to each tier and the calculation method of the score used in determining the content deployment destination. The method of calculating the score will be described later together with the method of determining the content deployment destination.

FIG. 25 shows the held content management table 13
It is a figure which shows an example of 11. This table is stored in the storage unit 2310 of the content cache server 2300 and the access point content cache server 2390. The item of content ID indicates the content ID of the content held in the content data 2312 of the storage unit 2310. The number of content users section indicates how many users each content is provided for.

Next, a method of determining the content disposition destination will be described with an example of the user U_a. First, assuming that the number indicated by the deployment destination determination effective log number 7016 of the user profile data table 2211 is N, only N server IDs from the newest one are extracted from the access log of the predetermined user of the network access log data 2212. That is, in this example, since the number of effective logs for determining the deployment destination is 10, ten server IDs are extracted from the newest access log of the user U_a. Next, the number of the extracted server IDs for each ID is calculated. In this example, the number of each of the access point servers S_1, S_2, S_4, S_5 is checked. From the server ID and the number obtained here,
Calculate the score for each server. The calculation method is as follows.

The server ID and the score calculation method of the server hierarchy management table 2132 are referred to, and values are substituted into the calculation formula shown therein. Specifically, in Tier 1,
The number of each server obtained above is directly substituted. In Tier 2, S_3 is the sum of the scores of S_1 and S_2, and S_6 is the sum of the scores of S_4 and S_5.
In addition, the DB shown in the layer 3 is the content distribution management server 2
It means 100. The above is the score calculation method.

Next, the score rate is calculated from the score of each server obtained by the above calculation, and the score rate is the effective allocation rate 7014 of the allocation destination determination of the user profile data table 2211.
The lowest layer server as described above is determined as the deployment destination. That is, in this example, the score of each server is divided by 10 which is the number of valid logs to calculate the score, and the score is 90%.
The above servers are searched in order from the lowest layer, and when a server satisfying the conditions is found, that server is determined as the deployment destination.

In the present embodiment, by setting the number of effective deployment destination logs 7015 to be set to 1, it is possible to have a form in which contents are always tracked as the user moves. Further, by setting the allocation destination determination effective ratio 7014 to 50% or less, it is possible to adopt a mode in which contents are allocated to a plurality of servers in the same hierarchy.

Next, the operation of content provision according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Note that the content distribution operation in response to the user's content request can be the same as that in the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted. 26 and 27 are flowcharts showing the operation of content deployment for each user according to the second embodiment. The operation flow will be described below in order.

In FIG. 26, first, the user terminal 140
0 sends a network login request to the access point content cache server 2390 to which the user terminal 1400 is directly connected in order to log in to the network 2000 of the present invention (step S2140).
0).

Upon receiving the request, the user authentication processing unit 2391 of the access point content cache server 2390 causes the user terminal 1400 to instruct the user to input the password and the user ID.
(Procedure S21300). In this procedure, the access point content cache server 2390 activates a browser of the user terminal 1400 and sends a form for inputting a user ID and a password to the user terminal and the entered password and user ID to the user terminal. This can be realized by sending a program that displays a button for and.

The user instructed to input the user ID and password transmits the user ID and password to the access point content cache server 2390 by pressing the send button after inputting them from the browser or the like (step S21410). .

Upon receiving the user ID and password, the user authentication processing unit 2391 of the access point content cache server 2390 sends the user ID and password and the server ID of the access point content cache server 2390 to the user profile management server 2200 ( Step S21310).

The user ID is determined by the above-mentioned step S21310.
The network login processing unit 2250 of the user profile management server 2200 that has received the password and the server ID retrieves the user ID and the password from the user profile data table 2211 of the storage unit 2210 and authenticates the user (step S21210). If the user and the password are not detected in the step S21210, the network login processing unit 2250 transmits a resend request of the user ID and the password to the access point content cache server 2390 (step S21210), Step S21300
Return to. On the other hand, when the user and the password are detected in the step S21210, the network login processing unit 2250 extracts the information of the user ID from the network access log data 2212 of the storage unit 2210 (step S21220) and receives the information. Server ID
And the date and time are additionally registered (step S21230). Next, the profile management server processing unit 2270 cuts out the deployment destination determination valid log data from the network access log data 2212 of the user (step S21240). The deployment destination determination valid log data is obtained by extracting the access server ID from the access log data of the user from the newer one by the number indicated by the deployment destination determination valid number 7015 of the user profile data table 2211. is there.

Next, from the user profile data table 2211, the content ID 701 related to the user is written.
3, deployment destination determination effective ratio 7014, deployment destination determination effective log number 7014, and deployment destination server ID 7016 determined last time
Information is extracted and transmitted to the content distribution management server 2100 together with the deployment destination determination valid log data extracted in step S21240, and a content deployment request is made (step S21250).

The content distribution management server 2100 which has received the content allocation request, the mobility analysis processing unit 2
A new deployment destination of the content is determined by 170 (step S21100). Details of step S21100 will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 28, first, the above step S212.
For each server ID, the deployment destination determination valid log data received from the server 50 is checked for each number (step S2110).
1). Next, the lowest layer record of the server layer management table 2132 of the storage unit 2130 is referred to (step S2110).
2), the score for each server is calculated (step S2110).
3). The score calculation method is as described with reference to FIG. The score calculated in the step S21103 is divided by the number of received deployment destination determination effective logs to calculate a score rate (step S21104), and there is a server ID whose score rate is equal to or more than the deployment destination determination effective ratio received above. It is evaluated (procedure S21105). Step S211
If the corresponding server ID is not detected in 05, the tier referred to in the server tier management table 2132 is incremented by one (step S21106), and the process returns to step S21103 to repeat the processing. On the other hand, if the corresponding server ID is detected in step S21105, the corresponding server ID
It determines that the content cache server 2300 having the above is the deployment destination (step S21107), and ends the processing of step S21100. The above is the detailed description of the step S21100.

Returning to FIG. 26, after determining the server ID of the new deployment destination in step S21100, the new deployment destination server ID is compared with the previously received deployment destination server ID, and the content deployment destination is changed. It is checked whether it is necessary (step S21110). If the new deployment destination server ID and the previously determined deployment destination server ID match, and there is no need to change the deployment destination, the process ends (step S21120). on the other hand,
When the new deployment destination server ID and the previously determined deployment destination server ID are different and the deployment destination needs to be changed, the new deployment destination server ID is sent to the user profile management server 2200.
(Procedure S21130), and the profile management processing unit 2270 of the user profile management server 2200 which received it.
Is the corresponding user profile data table 221.
Update the previously determined deployment destination server ID 7016 of 1
(Procedure S21260).

In FIG. 27, after the step S21130, the content distribution management server 2100 branches into two processes. One of them is a process of redeploying the content in the new deployment destination server, and the other is a process of deleting the content deployed in the old deployment destination server.

In the process of redeploying the content based on the new access frequency, the content delivery processing unit 2160 transmits an inquiry to the new deployment destination server to hold the content to be deployed (step S22100), and receives the inquiry. In the content cache server 2300 or the access point content cache server 2390,
The stored content management table 2311 is searched by the content distribution processing unit 2340 (step S22300), and 1 is added to the number of content users for the hit content (step S22310), and then it is evaluated whether all the inquired contents are hit. Yes (procedure S2232
0).

When all hits are returned, an invalid content ID is returned, and when not hit, a content ID not hit is returned to the content delivery management server 2100 (procedure S22330, procedure S22340), and the received content delivery is received. If the received ID is an invalid content ID, the content distribution processing unit 2160 of the management server 2100 ends the process (step S22140), and if the received ID is a valid content ID, the content indicated by the content ID is set to the content cache server 2300. Alternatively, the access point content cache server 239
0 (step S22130), and the content cache server 2300 or access point content cache server 2390 sends it to the content data 231.
2 and updates the held content management table 2311.

On the other hand, in the process of deleting the contents deployed to the old deployment destination server, first, the old deployment destination server I
A request for deleting the corresponding content is transmitted to the content cache server 2300 or the access point content cache server 2390 indicated by D (step S23100).

The content cache server 2300 or the access point content cache server 2390, which has received the content deletion request, subtracts 1 from the number of content users of the deletion target content ID in the retained content management table 2311 (step S23300),
When the number of content users is 0, the information of the content ID is deleted from the table and the corresponding content is deleted from the content data 2312.
(Step S23310).

By using the above-described method to provide the distribution of contents based on the mobility of each user, it becomes possible to distribute contents in consideration of the movement of users.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the content distribution management server and the user profile management server determine the destination server to distribute the content, but all the means are distributed to one server. It can be configured by consolidating, or can be realized by further increasing the number of distributions.

Further, it may be realized as a system configured by taking out only a part of the configuration of the processing shown in each of the above-mentioned embodiments.

Further, it may be realized as a system configured by combining the characteristic items shown in the first and second embodiments.

Although a plurality of preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it can be said that various changes can be made to the configuration of each part, control, processing and combinations thereof without departing from the spirit of the present invention. There is no limit.

(Supplementary Note 1) (1) In a content distribution network system that accommodates a plurality of user terminals and distributes requested content to each user terminal, content allocation control means for controlling content allocation in the system, and content allocation. A plurality of content storage means interposed between the control means and the user terminal for storing content the user likes, and content for monitoring the content preference status of the user and managing the content deployment destination in the content storage means And a content deployment control means, wherein the content deployment control means deploys the content having a high user preference to the content storage means closest to the user terminal based on an instruction from the content deployment destination management means. Content distribution network system.

(Supplementary Note 2) (2) The content allocation control means hierarchically manages a plurality of content storage means in the order of closer proximity to the user terminal, and the content whose user preference exceeds a predetermined level is the content closest to the user terminal. The content distribution network system according to appendix 1, wherein the content distribution network system is arranged in a storage unit and other contents are arranged in a higher-level content storage unit.

(Supplementary Note 3) The content disposition destination management means determines the preference degree of the user based on the access frequency of each content obtained for each user in a predetermined period in the past. Content distribution network system. Here, the predetermined period in the past means a predetermined period going back from the present to the past, or a period corresponding to a predetermined number of past logins by the user. Based on the access frequency in this predetermined period, the degree of preference for each content item is ranked as A, B, C or the like.

(Supplementary Note 4) (3) The content deployment destination management means deploys content deployed only to a user terminal that has logged out of the system or to a user terminal that does not respond to a message that is periodically sent from the system. The content distribution network system according to appendix 1, wherein the content distribution network system is managed so as to be deleted from the content storage unit.

(Supplementary Note 5) (4) In a content distribution network system that accommodates a plurality of user terminals and distributes requested content to each user terminal, content allocation control means for controlling content allocation within the system, and content allocation. A plurality of content storage means interposed between the control means and the user terminal for storing content the user likes, and a content deployment for monitoring the user's movement status and managing the content deployment destination in the content storage means. A content distribution network characterized by comprising: a destination management unit, wherein the content deployment control unit moves and deploys a user's favorite content to a content storage unit closest to the user terminal based on an instruction from the content deployment destination management unit. system.

(Supplementary Note 6) (5) The content allocation control means hierarchically manages a plurality of content storage means in the order of closer proximity to the user terminal, and, for a user with low mobility, sets the user's favorite content to that user. 6. The content distribution network system according to appendix 5, wherein the content distribution network system is arranged in a lowermost layer content storage means closest to, and is arranged in an upper layer content storage means as the mobility is higher.

(Supplementary Note 7) The content deployment destination management means obtains, for each content storage means, the login frequency at which the login request from the user is accepted or mediated in the past predetermined period, and the obtained login frequency is equal to or more than the predetermined content. 7. The content distribution network system according to attachment 6, wherein the storage means is sequentially searched from the lowest layer to determine a content deployment destination. Here, the predetermined period in the past means a predetermined period going back from the present to the past, or a period corresponding to a predetermined number of past logins by the user. Login acceptance during this predetermined period
Based on the mediation frequency and the hierarchical structure of the content storage means, the moving characteristic of the user is profiled, and the content is moved and arranged at the optimum position for the user. here,
The optimum position for the user covers, for example, a content storage unit (lowermost layer content storage unit) attached to a node that accommodates one user access with a particularly high access frequency, or a range with a relatively high access frequency. Means a higher-level content storage means.

[0122]

As described above, according to the present invention, the contents use environment for each user can be further improved by arranging / tracking the contents in the neighborhood according to the preference / mobility of the user. . Also, by hierarchically deploying / tracking contents according to user preference / mobility, network resources can be efficiently used, and profitable content distribution to individual users quickly and at low cost. Can be provided at.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a content distribution network system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a content distribution management server.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a user profile management server.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a content cache server.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a content ID-URL correspondence table.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of user profile data regarding a network.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of user profile data regarding contents.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a content deployment destination table according to access frequency.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a held content management table.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a content deployment process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an access log collection process.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of content allocation change processing.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of access frequency recalculation processing.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a deployed content deletion process.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a content distribution network system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a content distribution management server.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a user profile management server.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a content cache server.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of an access point content cache server.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a content ID-URL correspondence table.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of network access log data.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a user profile data table.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a server tier management table.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a held content management table.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a content deployment process.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a content deployment process.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a content deployment destination determination process based on user mobility.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1000, 2000 Content distribution network system 1100, 2100 Content distribution management server 1110, 2110 Content cache database 1200, 2200 User profile management server 1210, 2210 User profile information database 1300, 2300 Content cache server 2390 Access point Content cache server 1400 User terminal 1800 Public network 1900 origin server

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. In a content distribution network system that accommodates a plurality of user terminals and distributes requested content to each user terminal, a content deployment control means for performing content deployment control within the system, a content deployment control means, and a user terminal. And a plurality of content storage means for storing content the user likes, and a content deployment destination management means for monitoring the content preference status of the user and managing the content deployment destination in the content storage means. A content distribution network system, characterized in that the content deployment control means deploys content having a high user preference to a content storage means closest to the user terminal based on an instruction from the content deployment destination management means. 2. The content allocation control means hierarchically manages a plurality of content storage means in the order of being closer to the user terminal, and allocates content whose user preference exceeds a predetermined level to the content storage means closest to the user terminal. The content distribution network system according to claim 1, wherein the other content is provided in a higher-level content storage means. 3. The content deployment destination management means deletes, from the content storage means, content deployed only to a user terminal that has logged out of the system or to a user terminal that does not respond to a message that is periodically sent from the system. It is managed so as to
Content distribution network system described in. 4. A content distribution network system, which accommodates a plurality of user terminals and distributes requested content to each user terminal, a content deployment control means for controlling content deployment in the system, a content deployment control means, and a user terminal. And a plurality of content storage means for storing content the user likes, and a content deployment destination management means for monitoring the user's movement status and managing the content deployment destination in the content storage means. The content distribution network system, wherein the content deployment control means moves and deploys the user's favorite content to the content storage means closest to the user terminal based on an instruction from the content deployment destination management means. 5. The content allocation control means hierarchically manages a plurality of content storage means in the order of being closer to the user terminal, and for a user with low mobility, the user's favorite content is the lowest layer closest to the user. 5. The content distribution network system according to claim 4, wherein the content distribution network system is arranged in the content storage means, and the higher the mobility, the higher the content storage means.