JP2004265151A - Print processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print processing system capable of further improving an image calculation processing speed. <P>SOLUTION: In this print processing system, a plurality of host computers 1 and a printing device 5 are connected through a network, image calculation processing for an image request is sub-divided by a predetermined unit, and the sub-divided piece of image calculation processing are distributed so as to be executed on the plurality of host computers 1 on the network. When loads of the plurality of host computers 1 dynamically fluctuate and the image calculation processing speed decreases, the sub-divided image calculation processing is redistributed to the individual host computers 1 so that the image calculation processing can be accelerated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a plurality of host computers and a printing apparatus are connected to a network, and the image calculation processing of the print request is subdivided for each predetermined unit, and the image calculation processing subdivided by the plurality of host computers on the network is distributed. The present invention relates to a print processing system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In connection with a technology for accelerating print processing in a print processing system in which a plurality of host computers and a printing apparatus are connected to a network, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-163555 discloses processing from a user to an appropriate device on a network. Is disclosed.
In addition, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-163,086 discloses a technique for processing one print job by distributing the print job to a plurality of printers.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2002-229878 [Patent Document 2] JP-A-10-320146
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-229878, a single print request cannot be divided into a plurality of print requests, and high-speed processing cannot be realized by decentralized processing. Further, the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-320146 cannot speed up image calculation processing on the host computer side.
When a single print request is issued and an image calculation process for the print request is performed, there are two processing systems, an image calculation process on the host computer side and an image calculation process on the printing device side. As the performance of the host computer has been improved, a method of increasing the image calculation processing of the host computer has been adopted.
When the image calculation processing of the host computer is increased and the image calculation processing is performed, the image calculation processing of a single print request is finely divided and distributed to a plurality of host computers to perform the image calculation processing, so that the processing speed is further improved I do. If image processing for a single print request is distributed to multiple host computers and processing is performed by another user, the load on the multiple host computers may be reduced. It changes dynamically.
If the speed of image calculation processing of some host computers is reduced due to a change in load, the time required to complete the image calculation processing of a single print request is delayed.
The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print processing system capable of further improving the image calculation processing speed.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of host computers and a printing apparatus are connected to a network, and image calculation processing of a print request is subdivided for each predetermined unit. In a print processing system in which computerized image calculation processing is performed in a distributed manner, when the load on a plurality of host computers dynamically fluctuates and the image calculation processing speed is reduced, the image calculation processing that has been subdivided is performed by each host computer. The most important feature is a print processing system that speeds up image calculation processing by being relocated to a computer.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the print processing system according to the first aspect, a divided image is used as an element for rearranging a speed of sending data of the network line or a fluctuation of a load on the network line that changes with time. The main feature is a print processing system that dynamically rearranges calculation processing.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the print processing system according to the second aspect, when the subdivided image calculation processing is performed at high speed in a distributed manner, if there is no response from the host computer for an arbitrary predetermined time, The main feature of the present invention is a print processing system that dynamically relocates the subdivided image calculation processing to a host computer capable of performing other image calculation processing.
[0005]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing system of the third aspect, when the subdivided image calculation processing is performed at a high speed in a distributed manner, even during the image calculation processing performed by any host computer, Image calculation processing by dynamically relocating image calculation processing to other host computers as hardware resources, the speed of sending network line data, and the load on network lines that change with time. The main feature is a print processing system that adopts the processing result of the earlier process.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing system according to the fourth aspect, a number is assigned to the subdivided image calculation process, and the token ring with the number transmitted to the printing apparatus is present in the host computer group for a certain period of time. The main feature is a print processing system that keeps the order of the image calculation processing results by turning the unit and sending only the results of the subdivided image calculation processing based on the number attached to the token ring to the printing device. .
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the print processing system according to the fifth aspect, the highest priority flag can be set, and a flag is added to the subdivided image calculation processing, so that a single print request that is to be processed immediately is provided. The main feature is a print processing system that performs image calculation processing using a plurality of host computers connected preferentially on a network.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the image calculation processing result data is transmitted to the other host computer once without directly transmitting the image calculation processing result to the printing apparatus depending on the load state of the network line. A main feature is a print processing system that transmits the image calculation processing result to the printing apparatus again.
The present invention divides the image calculation processing of a single print request into smaller pieces and distributes the image calculation processing to a plurality of host computers. The image calculation processing speed is further improved by performing the image calculation processing.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a print processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this print processing system, a plurality of host computers 1 (1-1 to 1-n) are connected to a dedicated line 2 (2-1 to 2-n), a network line 3, and a dedicated line 4 to form a printing apparatus 5 (even a single printer). , Or more than one). The host computer 1 has a CPU 11 and a storage device 12.
The host computer 1-1 that has been instructed to execute printing becomes a load management server, and divides the image calculation processing into predetermined units such as bands or pages. Based on data of hardware resources such as the CPU 11 and the storage device 12 of a plurality of host computers connected to the network, the unit image calculation processing subdivided for each unit is appropriately distributed to perform the image calculation processing.
The load management server periodically acquires and manages the load of the hardware resources of the host computer group that changes with the passage of time. The print server determines the host computer 1 to be moved when it satisfies the condition of its own dynamic movement determination formula, determines the unit image calculation processing to be moved at the same time, and issues a command to dynamically relocate. put out. The host computer 1 that has received this command transmits data necessary for the unit image calculation process to the host computer 1 that is the destination. The receiving host computer 1 processes the received unit image calculation process. Such a dynamic movement is repeated until the entire print image calculation processing is completed.
[0007]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first control example of the present invention. The above processing is executed in S1 to S6.
In the present invention, in the first control example, when the unit image calculation processing is appropriately distributed to a plurality of host computer groups connected on the network, the dedicated lines 2-1 to 2-2 connected to the host computer 1 are used. The unit image calculation process is performed in a distributed manner in consideration of the speed at which the data of −n is transmitted and the loads of the dedicated lines 2-1 to 2-n.
When the load of the dedicated line 2 that changes every time with the change of the load of the host computer group is periodically acquired and managed, and the condition of the movement determination formula including the time required for data transmission and reception is satisfied, Is determined, a unit image calculation process that moves at the same time is determined, and a command for dynamically rearranging is issued.
The host computer 1 that has received this command transmits data necessary for the unit image calculation process to the host computer 1 that is the destination. The receiving host computer 1 processes the received unit image calculation process. Such a dynamic movement is repeated until the entire print image calculation processing is completed. According to this, the load distribution is performed in consideration of the fluctuation of the load of the network line, so that the image calculation processing can be sped up.
[0008]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a second control example of the present invention. The above processing is executed in S1 to S6.
Further, according to the present invention, in the second control example, when performing the image calculation process by appropriately distributing the unit image calculation process subdivided for each predetermined unit, there is no response from a given host computer 1 for a certain period of time. In this case, the unit image calculation process subdivided for each predetermined unit is issued again to another host computer 1 capable of performing print processing, and the unit image calculation process is performed.
For example, if there is no response from the host computer 1-2 for a certain period of time, the image calculation process may not proceed, so the unit image is sent again to the host computer 1-3, which is another host computer capable of performing print processing. Issue a calculation process and perform the process. According to this, it is possible to cope with a failure of the host computer or the like, and the speed of the image calculation process can be increased more safely.
[0009]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a third control example of the present invention. The above processing is executed in S1 to S8.
Further, in the present invention, in the third control example, when a single print request is divided into predetermined units and a unit image calculation process is distributed and performed at high speed, an arbitrary host computer 1 performs the process. Even during the unit image calculation process, the unit image calculation process subdivided for each predetermined unit is issued again to another host computer 1 capable of performing print processing to perform the unit image calculation process. Then, the processing result of the unit image calculation processing that has been completed earlier is adopted. According to this, the same image calculation processing is performed by a plurality of host computers, and the processing result of the earlier image calculation processing is adopted. The image calculation processing can be sped up in accordance with the characteristics.
[0010]
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a print processing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this print processing system, a plurality of host computers 1 (1-1 to 1-n) are connected to a dedicated line 2 (2-1 to 2-n), a network line 3, and a dedicated line 4 to form a printing apparatus 5 (even a single printer). , Or more than one). The host computer 1 has a CPU 11 and a storage device 12.
In the fourth control example, when a single print request is subdivided into predetermined units and distributed and executed as unit image calculation processing, processing is performed on each of the unit image calculation processing subdivided into predetermined units. Assign a number. The token ring T with the transmission number indicating the current unit image calculation processing result transmitted to the printing apparatus 5 is rotated in the host computer group at a certain fixed time cycle, and the token ring T next to the number attached to the token ring T is rotated. By sending only the result of the unit image calculation processing to the printing apparatus 5, the order of the print processing results is maintained. According to this, it is possible to execute printing on the printing apparatus side without considering the order, and it is possible to reduce the processing time on the printing apparatus side.
[0011]
Further, in the present invention, in the above, a single print request has a top priority flag, a print request that is to be processed immediately is added to the top priority flag, divided into unit image calculation processing, and distributed to a host computer group, The host computer group preferentially processes the unit image calculation processing with the highest priority flag. According to this, since a priority flag is provided, it is possible to preferentially process a single print request to be processed immediately.
Further, according to the present invention, the image calculation processing result data is not transmitted directly to the printing device 5 but transmitted once to another host computer 1 depending on the load state of the dedicated line 2 in an arbitrary host computer 1. And transmits the result of the image calculation process to the printing apparatus 5 again. According to this, since the image calculation processing result can be transmitted using the network line with a light load, the image calculation processing result can be transmitted at high speed.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the print processing system according to the first aspect, since the host computer on the network is effectively used, the image calculation processing can be speeded up.
In the print processing system according to the second aspect, the load distribution is performed in consideration of the fluctuation of the load on the network line, so that the image calculation processing can be sped up.
In the print processing system according to the third aspect, it is possible to cope with a failure of the host computer or the like, and to speed up the image calculation processing more safely.
In the print processing system according to the fourth aspect, it is possible to speed up the image calculation process by causing a plurality of host computers to perform the same image calculation process and employing the processing result of the earlier image calculation process. In addition to this, the image calculation processing can be sped up in response to fault tolerance.
In the print processing system according to the fifth aspect, printing can be executed without being aware of the order on the printing device side, and the processing time on the printing device side can be reduced.
In the print processing system according to the sixth aspect, since a priority flag is provided, a single print request to be processed immediately can be processed preferentially.
In the print processing system according to the seventh aspect, since the image calculation processing result can be transmitted using the network line with a light load, the image calculation processing result can be transmitted at high speed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a print processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a first control example of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a second control example of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a third control example of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a print processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Host computer 2 Dedicated line (network line)
3 Network line 4 Dedicated line (network line)
5 Printer

Claims (7)

A plurality of host computers and at least one printing apparatus are connected to a network, and the image calculation processing of the print request is subdivided for each predetermined unit, and the subdivided image calculation processing is performed by the plurality of host computers on the network. In a print processing system, when the load on multiple host computers fluctuates dynamically and the image calculation processing speed decreases, the image calculation processing is speeded up by relocating the subdivided image calculation processing to each host computer. And a print processing system. 2. The print processing system according to claim 1, wherein the speed of sending the data of the network line and the fluctuation of the load on the network line that change with time are determined as a determination factor for rearranging, and the subdivided image calculation processing is dynamically performed. A print processing system characterized by being arranged. 3. The print processing system according to claim 2, wherein when the subdivided image calculation processing is performed at high speed in a distributed manner, if there is no response from the host computer for an arbitrary predetermined time, another image calculation processing can be performed. A print processing system, wherein a single print request is subdivided for each predetermined unit into a single host computer, and an image calculation process is dynamically rearranged. 4. The print processing system according to claim 3, wherein when the subdivided image calculation processing is performed at a high speed in a distributed manner, the hardware resources and the data of the network line can be processed during the image calculation processing performed by any host computer. As a decision factor for relocating the speed of sending data and the load on the network line that changes with time, dynamically relocating the image calculation processing to another host computer, and processing which ended earlier in the image calculation processing A print processing system characterized by employing a result. 5. The print processing system according to claim 4, wherein a number is assigned to the subdivided image calculation process, and the numbered token ring currently transmitted to the printing apparatus is turned in a certain time unit in the host computer group. A print processing system that sends only the result of the subdivided image calculation process based on the number to the printing device, thereby maintaining the order of the image calculation process results. 6. The print processing system according to claim 5, wherein a highest priority flag can be set, and a flag is added to the subdivided image calculation processing, so that a single print request to be processed immediately is preferentially connected to the network. A print processing system for performing image calculation processing using a plurality of selected host computers. 6. The image calculation process according to claim 5, wherein the image calculation process result data is transmitted once to another host computer without directly sending the image calculation process result to the printing device depending on the load state of the network line. A print processing system for transmitting a result.

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