JP2003186563A - Computer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable periodical rebooting of all the computer equipment (PC) and solve resource shortage problems, such as memory leakages caused by nonconformities in the OS. <P>SOLUTION: A computer device has a computer program (a program executed for indefinite period, which is automatically executed on computer equipment (hereinafter referred to as PC) such as a personal computer at the time of booting an operating system (hereinafter referred to as the OS) and ended with reboot request to the OS, after a certain fixed time has elapsed. In other words, the computer device, in the case of one PC with a program executed indefinitely on it, the computer program is made to have the function of ending with reboot request to the OS after a fixed time elapse. Thus, stabilized and indefinite period execution of the program is enabled in unmanned manner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a computer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large amount of content data (such as music data) is stored in a large-capacity storage device, and when there is a request for data transmission via a network such as the Internet, broadcasting, or a mobile phone, the storage is performed. A content data distribution service for extracting content data requested to be transmitted from content data stored in a device and transmitting the content data via a network is becoming widespread.

A system for realizing such a content data distribution service includes a large-capacity storage device which stores content data in a database and stores it in a large-capacity storage device according to management information used for searching content data. An archive server for controlling retrieval of stored content data, a plurality of archive client terminal devices for storing content data in a mass storage device via the archive server, and a network are sent. A content data distribution server that receives a content data transmission request, obtains the content data requested to be transmitted from the content data stored in the archive server, and transmits the content data via the network.

Here, the archive server, the archive client terminal device, and the content data distribution server are
Connected via LAN (Local Area Network), LA
N is connected to the network.

In such a content data distribution system, for example, a user may use computer equipment (specifically,
When a content data transmission request is made from a personal computer (PC) and a computer device is hereinafter referred to as a PC for convenience, via the Internet, the content data distribution server receives the content data transmission request and archives it. The content data requested to be transmitted is obtained from the content data stored in the mass storage device via the server and transmitted to the user's computer device (PC) via the network.

The above-described content data distribution system provides a content data distribution service for 24 hours. Therefore, new content data is stored in the mass storage device and contents data already stored in the mass storage device are stored. In order to prevent the processing capacity of the archive server or the like from reaching the limit, the work such as updating is performed at a time when the user's access (content data transmission request) frequency is low (for example, at night), so that the operation is always performed for 24 hours.

Therefore, in a program (such as a resident program in a server) that executes indefinitely, such as an archive server of such a system, a computer device (P
In principle, C) is not restarted (rebooted).
When it is necessary to restart, the user (user of the archive server or the content distribution system) manually operates by operating the computer device (PC).

Further, in a system that operates 24 hours a day, there is a system that copes with the interruption of service in the event of any failure.
No. 9 publication.

In a system including a plurality of operating systems (OS), one of the OSs (OS
There is a failure recovery method in which 2) monitors the other OS (OS1) and restarts the monitored OS (OS1).
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 001-101034.

[0010]

In the above-mentioned archive server or content data distribution system,
Since the system is not restarted, a failure due to lack of resources such as a memory leak may occur due to a defect in the program (application software) executed on the operating system (OS) or the OS itself.

Here, the memory leak means, for example, that the application software occupies and uses a part of the memory of the PC, and when the application software ends, the occupied memory area is used by the PC. It is to end without releasing to.

The failure due to lack of resources is a failure in which a memory area of a PC, a hard disk drive or the like runs out of storage area due to a memory leak or the like.

If such a failure due to lack of resources is left as it is, there is a possibility that the PC may malfunction due to a hang-up. In order to prevent such problems from occurring, it is necessary to regularly restart the PC. In the past, however, the user (the user of the archive server or content data distribution system) operates the PC to restart the PC. I did it manually. In the above-mentioned system in which a plurality of terminal devices and servers are connected via a LAN and which operates for 24 hours, it takes time and time to manually restart all the devices.

In the system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-172619, the service is not interrupted when a system failure occurs.
It is not possible to prevent a failure from occurring.

In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-101034, the OS on the monitored side is
(OS1) restarts, but the OS (O
S2) does not restart. Therefore, OS1 and O
In the system equipped with S2, OS2 on the monitoring side
If the system fails, the system may not operate normally. Further, even when the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-101034 is used in a network system in which a plurality of terminal devices are connected in a hierarchical structure, the device monitoring each terminal device does not restart. If a device that monitors each terminal device fails, the network may not operate normally.

The present invention is applicable to all computer equipment (P
It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer device capable of periodically restarting C) and avoiding a problem due to insufficient resources such as a memory leak due to a malfunction of the OS itself.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is automatically executed at the time of booting an operating system, and a restart request is issued to the operating system after a lapse of a predetermined time. It is characterized by having a computer program that terminates in time.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is automatically executed when the operating system is started on the present computer device connected to at least one other computer device, and on the other computer device. A computer program that, when an instruction to stop execution is received from an operating program, records information for restarting the computer device in another computer device in a recording means of the other computer device and terminates It is characterized by

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is automatically executed when the operating system is started on the present computer device connected to at least one other computer device, and on the other computer device. When an instruction to stop execution is received from a running program, the instruction to stop execution is issued to at least one program running on another computer device, and then the program ends. The computer program is characterized by including a computer program that waits for, and then records the information for restarting this computer device in the recording means of the other computer device and terminates.

The invention according to claim 4 is automatically executed on the computer device connected to at least one other computer device when the operating system is started, and is recorded in the recording means when the execution is started. Based on the information obtained, a restart request is made to the operating system of at least one other computer device, and after a certain period of time, it is executed for at least one program running on the other computer device. It is characterized by including a computer program that waits for those programs to end after issuing a command to stop, and then issues a restart request to the operating system of the computer device and ends.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the computer device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a plurality of computer devices in which the computer program is installed are connected to each other. It is characterized by being.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0023]First embodiment The computer device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a computer
On computer equipment such as computer (hereinafter referred to as PC)
Of the operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS)
It is automatically executed at startup and after a certain period of time O
Computer Pro that terminates after requesting S to restart
Has a program (a program that runs indefinitely)
It is characterized by.

In other words, the computer device of the first embodiment of the present invention issues a restart request to the OS after a certain period of time when there is one PC in which the program to be executed indefinitely runs. The computer program has the function to terminate. This allows unattended execution of a program in a stable manner indefinitely.

In the following, this computer program (provided with a computer program that is automatically executed when the operating system is started and that terminates by issuing a restart request to the operating system after a lapse of a certain time) is described below. It is called 1 computer program.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the processing operation of the computer device of the first embodiment, that is, the computer device when there is one computer device (PC) to be restarted. Referring to FIG. 1, when the PC starts up, the program (first computer program) is automatically started. The program terminates by issuing a restart request to the PC after a certain period of time. The program is automatically started again when the PC is restarted. As a result, the program can be permanently operated while the PC is regularly restarted.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the processing of a computer program in the computer device of the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, in the case of one PC, when a program (first computer program) starts (step S1), task processing is performed (step S2). Here, the processing of a task is processing of the original purpose of the program, and if the program is a database server, for example, it includes a database inquiry to a client and execution of a query.

During the processing of the task, it is determined whether or not the time until the restart has elapsed (step S3). The time until the restart is an arbitrary time set in advance. As a result of the determination in step S3, when the time until restarting has elapsed, it is determined whether the program can be terminated (step S4). When the program cannot be terminated, the task is processed (step S5), while the program is terminated. When it is possible to end the process, the OS is requested to restart (step S6), and the program ends (step S).
7). In the case of a program in which it is possible to terminate the program at an inappropriate timing, such as during communication with a client, it is necessary to check before the program ends.

As described above, the computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention issues a restart request to the OS after a certain period of time when there is one PC in which a program to be executed indefinitely runs. By giving the program the function to terminate, it is possible to run the program stably indefinitely and unattended. In other words, if there is only one PC that runs a program that runs indefinitely, that PC can be restarted at regular intervals, and programs such as a memory leak due to a program running on the OS or a malfunction of the OS itself can occur. Avoid problems due to lack of resources.

[0030]Second embodiment In the above-described first embodiment, the program executed indefinitely
It was the case that there was only one PC running the ram, but indefinitely
There are multiple PCs on which the program to be executed operates,
Environment connected by network etc.
Environment), a program on another PC
It must be running for this program to work.
It may be a requirement. At this time, this program is
This program depends on the running PC (lower level PC)
Both the PC (upper PC) on which the program
When restarting, you need to follow the steps below.
It -End the program running on the lower PC.・
Terminate the program running on the host PC and switch the host PC
restart.・ After restarting the upper PC,
After the program starts, restart the lower PC.

In order to realize the above, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the program of the lower PC is restarted to the recording medium such as the hard disk of the upper PC when the end command is received from the program of the upper PC. This can be configured to record and exit information requesting (ie, on a PC that is connected to one or more other PCs via a network etc., automatically at OS startup). When a command to stop execution is received from a program executed on another PC and running on another PC, another P
A computer program (hereinafter, referred to as a second program) so that C records information for restarting the PC in a recording means (for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk) of another PC and ends.
Computer program)) can be configured). As a result, the restart of the lower PC can be entrusted to the program on the upper PC.

On the other hand, the upper-level PC sends a termination command to the program on the lower-level PC, and then restarts the program of the lower-level PC to record in the recording means (eg, recording medium such as hard disk) of the upper-level PC. By monitoring the information, it is possible to confirm that the program on the lower PC is finished, and then the program on the upper PC makes a restart request to the OS and terminates it. Further, the program of the higher-level PC is automatically started after the restart, but at this time, a restart command is sent to the OS of the lower-level PC based on the restart request information recorded in the recording medium such as the hard disk. It can be configured (ie on a PC that is connected to one or more other PCs using a network or the like, it is automatically executed when the OS is started, and at the start of execution, a recording means (for example, a hard disk or the like is used). A restart request is made to the OS of one or more other PCs based on the information recorded in the recording medium), and
After issuing a command to stop the execution for one or more programs running on another PC after a certain period of time,
Wait for those programs to finish, then
A computer program (hereinafter, referred to as a third computer program) can be configured to issue a restart request to the C OS and terminate.

In addition, in the above-mentioned network environment, it is a necessary condition for this program to operate, and that this program is running, that a program or OS is running on another PC. May be a necessary condition for the programs of other PCs to operate. In this case, when the program receives a stop command from the program of the upper PC, it first sends an end command to the program of the lower PC, and then the program of the lower PC is the uppermost PC.
By checking the restart information recorded in the recording medium such as the hard disk of the above, it is confirmed that the program of the subordinate PC is finished, and then the program requests the recording medium such as the hard disk of the top PC to restart. It can be configured to record the information, exit, and leave the restart of the PC to the program of the top-level PC (ie connected to one or more other PCs using a network etc.). When a command to stop execution is received from a program running on another PC that is automatically executed when the OS is started on the other PC, another P
Information for issuing a command to stop the execution of one or more programs running on C, waiting for those programs to finish, and then restarting this PC by another PC. A computer program (hereinafter, referred to as a fourth computer program) can be configured to record the program in another PC's recording means (for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk) and terminate the process.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned network environment, when the programs executed by each PC have no dependency (in the case of the first embodiment), the first computer in each PC. Run the program.

On the other hand, when the programs executed by the respective PCs have a dependency relationship (in the case of the second embodiment), the highest PC (the PC on which a program that does not depend on other programs is executed) ), The third computer program is executed to restart all the PCs in the network. The lowest PC executes the second computer program, and the other (intermediate) PCs execute the fourth computer program. This allows unattended operation of a program that is to be executed indefinitely on all PCs in the network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of a computer device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, in FIG. 3, a plurality of computer devices (P
In C), a concrete example is shown in which all the PCs are periodically restarted while executing the program indefinitely.

In FIG. 3, PC-A to G represent the PCs on which the respective programs are executed.
-A is upper PC (top PC), PC-B, PC-C is middle PC (intermediate PC), PC-D, PC-E, PC-F,
PC-G is a lower-level PC (lower-level PC). The respective PCs, that is, PC-A to G are connected by a network or the like. Also, Prog-a to g are PCs, respectively.
-Indicates a program to be executed in A to G.

Here, the program Prog-a executed by the PC-A, which is a higher-level PC, is the same program as the above-mentioned third computer program.

The programs Prog-b, c executed by the intermediate PCs PC-B, PC-C are the same as the above-mentioned fourth computer program.

Further, the lower PCs PC-D, PC-E,
Program Prog-d executed by PC-F, PC-G,
e, f, and g are programs similar to the above-mentioned second computer program.

Here, Prog-a needs to be executed in order to execute Prog-b and c, respectively. Also, P
It is necessary that Prog-b is executed in order to execute each of rog-d and e. Further, Prog-c needs to be executed in order to execute Prog-f and g.

A restart command for all PCs is executed by Prog-a. The restart command is transmitted to each subordinate PC via a network or the like, but here it is assumed that the OS has a function of restarting from another PC on the network. If the function of restarting from another PC on the network is not provided, a program for restarting is executed in each PC in addition to the above program, and is automatically executed after restarting. There is a need.

The restart information is saved on the hard disk of PC-A. The PC-A to G can write and read the restart information.

Several formats of the restart information are conceivable, but here, it is assumed that a database is created as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, PC names are P
This is information for identifying C. Also, the status information is a numerical value here, 0 indicates that the program is being executed,
One or more indicates a restart request. The restart request indicates that it is necessary to restart in order from the smallest numerical value.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show Prog-a,
It is a flow chart which shows processing of b and d. In addition, Pro
g-c is the same as Prog-b, Prog-e, f, g are Prog
Since it is the same as -d, illustration of the flowchart is omitted.

First, referring to FIG. 5, when the program is started (step S11), Prog-a sends a restart command to the PC whose status information is "1" (step S12). Then, it is determined whether the status information of the PC that has transmitted the command has become "0" (step S13), and when the status information of the PC that has transmitted the command has become "0", the PC with the status information of "2" A restart command is transmitted to (step S14). Then, it is judged whether or not the status information of the PC which has transmitted the command has become "0" (step S15), and when the status information of the PC which has transmitted the command has become "0", processing of the task is carried out (step S16). ). Then, it is determined whether or not the time until the restart has elapsed (step S17), and when the time until the restart has not elapsed, the task processing of step S16 is performed, while when the time until the restart has elapsed ,
It is determined whether the program can be ended (step S1)
8). As a result, when the program cannot be terminated, the task is processed (step S19), and when the program can be terminated, the termination command is notified to Prog-b and Prog-c (step S20). Then PC-
It is determined whether or not the status information of B and C is "1" or more (step S21), and when it is "1" or more, the program is ended (step S22).

Further, referring to FIG. 6, when the program starts (step S31), Prog-b sets the status information of PC-B to "0" (step S32). Then, the task is processed (step S33). Then, it is determined whether there is an end command from Prog-a (step S34). When there is no termination instruction from Prog-a, the task processing of step S33 is performed, while when there is an termination instruction from Prog-a, it is determined whether the program can be terminated (step S35). As a result, when the program cannot be ended, the task is processed (step S36), while when the program can be ended, the end command is notified to Prog-d and Prog-e (step S37). Then, it is determined whether or not the status information of PC-D and E is "1" or more (step S38),
If it is "1" or more, the status information of PC-B is set to "1" (step S39). Then, the program ends (step S40).

Further, referring to FIG. 7, when the program starts (step S41), Prog-d sets the status information of PC-D to "0" (step S42), and then processes the task (step S42). Step S43). Here, during the processing of the task, it is determined whether there is an end instruction from Prog-b (step S44), and if there is an end instruction from Prog-b, it is determined whether the program can be ended (step S45). As a result, when the program cannot be terminated, the task is processed (step S46), while when the program can be terminated, the PC-
Set the status information of D to "2" (step S47),
The program ends (step S48).

By operating the above programs Prog-a to g, the system shown in FIG. 3 follows the following process as a whole. That is, 1. When the time until restart elapses, Prog-a becomes Prog-
Notify the end command to b and c. 2. Prog-b notifies Prog-d and e of the end command,
g-c notifies Prog-f, g of the end command. 3. Prog-d, e, f, g ends. 4. Prog-b and c ends. 5. Prog-a ends. 6. PC-A restarts and Prog-a starts. 7. Prog-a notifies PC-B and C of the restart command. 8. PC-B and C are restarted, and Prog-b and c are started. 9. Prog-a notifies PC-D, E, F, and G of the restart command. 10. PC-D, E, F, G restart, Prog-d,
e, f, g start.

As a result, it is possible to periodically restart all the PCs of PC-A to G while executing the programs of Prog-a to g indefinitely.

That is, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained in each PC.

First, the following effects can be obtained in the upper PC (PC-A). That is, a middle-level PC or a low-level PC
However, if the upper PC is restarted while writing data to the database of the upper PC, the data writing to the upper PC may be interrupted midway and the database of the upper PC may be destroyed. In the present invention, a high-order PC
Does not restart when the middle-level PC and the lower-level PC are operating, and restarts when the middle-level PC and the lower-level PC are not operating. Therefore, by restarting while the middle-level PC and the lower-level PC are being accessed, the effect that the database of the higher-level PC is not destroyed can be obtained.

Further, the following effects can be obtained in the middle PC (PC-B, PC-C). That is, when the middle-level PC receives data from the upper-level PC and transmits it to the lower-level PC in response to the data transmission request from the lower-level PC, and the lower-level PC receives the data from the middle-level PC, the middle-level PC restarts. If done, the lower PC may not be able to receive data from the upper PC. In the present invention, the upper PC is the middle PC
And do not restart when the subordinate PC is operating,
Since the middle-level PC does not restart when the lower-level PC is operating, the middle-level PC can reliably receive the data from the higher-level PC and transmit the data to the lower-level PC.

In addition, subordinate PCs (PC-D, PC-E, PC
-F, PC-G) has the following effects. That is, when the lower PC receives data from the middle PC or the upper PC and is writing a file to the hard disk of the lower PC, the middle PC or the upper P
When C is restarted, the writing of the file in the lower PC may be interrupted halfway, and the file may become incomplete. In the present invention, since the middle-level PC and the upper-level PC do not restart when the lower-level PC is operating, the lower-level PC
Has the effect of being able to receive complete data from a middle PC or a higher PC.

[0055]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is automatically executed when the operating system is started, and after a certain period of time has elapsed, the operating system is requested to restart and the operation ends. Since there is a computer program that operates, if there is only one PC running the computer program, that PC can be restarted periodically, and the program executed on the OS or the memory due to a malfunction of the OS itself You can avoid problems such as leaks due to lack of resources.

According to the second, third and fourth aspects of the present invention, data can be reliably transferred between this PC (this computer device) and another PC (other computer device). It becomes possible to do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the computer apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a plurality of computer devices in which the computer program is installed are connected to each other. As a result, all PCs can be restarted periodically, and the programs running on the OS, or the OS
It is possible to avoid problems due to lack of resources such as memory leak due to its own failure. That is, in a network environment, even if a program to be executed indefinitely runs on multiple PCs on the network, each PC
By executing the computer program according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3 and 4, all PCs can be periodically restarted, and the program executed on the OS or the OS itself malfunctions. You can avoid problems such as memory leaks due to resource shortage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a processing operation of a computer device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing of a computer program in the computer device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of a computer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a format of restart information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of Prog-a.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of Prog-b.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of Prog-d.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A computer apparatus comprising a computer program which is automatically executed when an operating system is started up and which, after a lapse of a predetermined time, issues a restart request to the operating system and terminates. 2. On the computer device connected to at least one other computer device, the program is automatically executed when the operating system is started, and is executed by a program running on the other computer device. A computer comprising a computer program that, when receiving a command to stop, records information for another computer device to restart the computer device in a recording means of the other computer device and terminates the information. apparatus. 3. On the computer device connected to at least one other computer device, the program is automatically executed when the operating system is started, and is executed by a program running on the other computer device. When it receives an instruction to stop, it issues an instruction to stop execution to at least one program running on another computer device, then waits for those programs to finish, and then another A computer device comprising a computer program for causing a computer device to record information for restarting the computer device in a recording means of another computer device and terminating the program. 4. On the computer device connected to at least one other computer device, at least based on the information that is automatically executed when the operating system is started and recorded in the recording means at the start of execution. After making a restart request to the operating system of one other computer device, and issuing an instruction to stop execution to at least one program running on the other computer device after a certain period of time has elapsed. , Wait for those programs to finish, then
A computer apparatus comprising: a computer program that requests the operating system of the computer apparatus to restart and terminates the operation. 5. The computer device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of computer devices in which the computer program is installed are connected and configured. .