JP2005250818A - Program execution service provision method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quantitatively guarantee processing capacity with small equipment investment in service for providing the processing ability of a computer to execute a program of a user. <P>SOLUTION: In this program execution service provision method, the computer program of the user is received and is executed on condition that the data processing capacity of the computer or the like is procurable. More specifically, the user of the program execution service defines the processing capacity necessary for the program execution and designates it to a service provider. Thereby, even if the service provider does not hold the processing capacity enough to always satisfy peak-time performance, the processing capacity is dynamically procured from a network, and the provision of the designated processing capacity is guaranteed to the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for providing a service for accepting and executing a computer program of a user on the premise that data processing capability of a computer or the like can be procured. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method in which a user of a program execution service simply designates the processing capability required for program execution to the service provider, and the service provider performs processing based on the information. By dynamically procuring capacity from the network, it is possible to guarantee the provision of the processing capacity specified by the user without having to wait in advance for processing capacity that always satisfies peak performance. The present invention relates to a method for providing an execution service.

  The present invention is based on a resource configuration technique having a function of dynamically allocating / deallocating a plurality of computers when performing calculation processing. According to Patent Document 1, there is a technique in which a service provider allocates processing capability required by a program according to a request definition of the program provider, but the resource configuration is determined at the time of program deployment mainly at the judgment of the service provider. No service method has been developed in which a user can directly define a required processing capacity amount that changes every moment during the operation of a program, and a service provider can guarantee the processing capacity.

JP 2001-222436 A

  The present invention solves the following problems that hinder the provision of a service that guarantees the execution quality of a calculation task required by a user in terms of performance with the minimum necessary capital investment. The performance of the calculation task required by the user is not always constant and must be assumed to change from time to time. To meet this demand, traditionally, there is a method that guarantees the performance by having the program provider predict the computational power that can achieve peak performance, and that the service provider always has resources that meet the computational power. Although it was general, in this case, surplus computing power that is not used except during peak times is generated, and wasteful operation of the equipment occurs. The present invention dynamically procures the computing power required from time to time and realizes the provision of a service that minimizes the waste of equipment operation rate.

  Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide means for clarifying the scope of responsibility of a calculation service provider. With existing technology, if the processing capacity is insufficient, it is distinguished whether it is due to a defect in the executed program or because the calculation service provider has not assigned an appropriate amount of processing capacity. Appropriate responsibilities could not be shared with the calculation service provider. According to the present invention, the program creator can define the processing capability necessary to obtain a predetermined execution performance and provide it to the user. In accordance with the definition, the user can present the requested processing performance and the specific value of the computing resource necessary for the realization to the computing service provider, and can receive the guarantee of the provision. The service provider clarifies responsibility, such as recommending the purchase of additional computing resources or notifying the user of a program failure when processing performance is insufficient even though the requested computing resources are allocated. It is possible to take the response.

  A device that is a means for solving the problem and its configuration will be described.

  The service provider prepares a computer having a program execution base and an execution environment manager having means for controlling the execution of the program as an environment in which the program can be executed. The execution environment manager, as a means to control program execution, receives service user authentication means, program transmission / reception means, program deployment means, definition of processing capability required by the program, procure resources, and allocate and adjust to programs Means for monitoring the program execution status, and means for providing the processing result to the service user.

  The service user includes a program execution entrusting unit for entrusting the program and the processing capability definition to the service provider through a medium or a communication unit and obtaining a processing result.

  The program is designed to operate on the program execution platform provided by the service provider.

  The service user uses the program execution entrusting means to present the program and the processing capability definition necessary for the program to operate to the service provider. The service provider determines whether to accept the program execution entrustment by the function of the execution environment manager. The execution environment manager authenticates the service user and determines whether or not the processing capability required by the processing capability definition can be satisfied by using the processing capability that can be procured by the resource adjustment means. This determination includes not only the static processing capability at a certain point of time but also scheduling information. If the necessary processing capacity can be allocated, the execution environment manager accepts the user's program execution entrustment, accepts the program by the program receiving means, deploys it to the program execution environment by the program deployment means, and then procures by the resource adjustment means Assign processing power. The execution environment manager sets the processing capability at the same time that the program is deployed on the program execution platform. The program execution platform uses an execution status monitoring means to grasp how much CPU cycles, storage capacity and other resources are used by the program. The execution environment manager schedules sufficient processing capacity to meet the current processing capacity usage status of the program according to the processing capacity definition, and allocates unallocated processing capacity in preparation for a situation where more processing capacity is required. prepare. The upper limit of the processing capacity to be prepared is the sum of the maximum processing capacity defined by the program being executed. Basically, the execution environment manager must be able to procure and provide this cap capacity at any time. However, if the upper limit processing capacity cannot be procured by the service contract with the user, it is possible to allow the service quality to be lowered. Alternatively, it is conceivable to increase the processing capacity by using a service that provides temporary processing capacity. It is also possible to provide a temporary processing capability providing service to other service providers. If more processing power is required, such as when program operations become active and CPU usage increases, additional unallocated processing power is added to ensure program execution performance. Here, when the processing capacity is input up to the maximum value of the processing capacity definition and the processing capacity is insufficient, the service provider does not input any further processing capacity. If a performance problem occurs in this state, the service user is notified of a program failure or specification failure rather than a processing service provider.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the service user can define and request the necessary processing capacity in advance, it is possible to receive a quantitative guarantee from the service provider regarding the performance of the service.
(2) Since the processing capacity is dynamically changed during the service according to the user's request, it can always be kept to the minimum necessary without holding extra processing capacity, and the operation cost can be kept small. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 illustrates functional components relating to the present invention. The service user 101 owns the program 103 with the processing capability definition 102, entrusts execution to the service provider using the program execution entrusting means 104, and obtains the result. The service provider 105 includes an authentication unit 106 for authenticating a service user, a program transmission / reception unit 107, a program deployment unit 108, a resource adjustment unit 109, a monitoring unit 110, a result providing unit 111, and a billing unit 112. And a computer 114 having a program execution platform 115, and provide a processing service to a service user.

  FIG. 5 shows a processing flow until the service user 101 entrusts the execution of the program to the service provider 105 and obtains the result using the functional components shown in FIG. The service user 101 connects to the execution environment manager 113 of the service provider 105 using the program execution entrusting means 104 (step 61). Therefore, after receiving authentication by the authenticating means 106 (step 62), the processing capability definition is transmitted to the resource adjusting means 109 (step 63). Here, when the resource adjustment unit 109 replies that the processing capability can be provided (step 64), the program 103 is transmitted to the program transmission / reception unit 107 to request execution (step 65). The program execution entrusting unit 104 waits until the execution result is received from the result providing unit 111, and after receiving the result (step 66), disconnects the connection with the execution environment manager (step 67) and ends the service use. . If the authentication fails in step 62, or if the processing capability cannot be provided in step 64, the connection with the execution environment manager is disconnected at that time (step 67), and the service use ends.

  FIG. 6 shows a processing flow from when the service provider 105 receives processing entrustment from the service user 101 using the functional components shown in FIG. The execution environment manager 113 waits for a connection from the service user (step 701). If there is a connection, the execution environment manager 113 checks the authority of the service user using the authentication means 106 (step 702). If there is no problem in authority, the resource adjustment unit 109 receives the processing capability definition (step 703), and confirms whether or not resources sufficient to satisfy the requested processing capability can be procured (step 704). If the resource can be provided, the program transmission / reception means 107 receives the program (step 705). If user authentication fails or sufficient resources cannot be procured, that is, an error, an error is returned to the user (step 718), and the initial state is restored. If there is no error, the resource adjustment unit 109 procures processing resources by a method such as starting a computer that can execute processing (step 706), and deploys a program using the program deployment unit 108 (step 707). Execute (Step 708). During execution of the program, the execution state is monitored through the monitoring unit 110 (step 709), and it is confirmed whether the processing performance required by the processing capability definition is satisfied (step 710). If the processing capacity is insufficient, the resource adjustment means 109 is used to procure processing resources (step 711), and processing resources are additionally deployed as much as possible (step 712). When the execution of the process is completed (step 713), the result providing means 111 is used to transmit the result to the service user (step 714), and the charging process is performed using the charging means 112 (step 715). End (step 716), release resources (step 717), and return to the initial state. If execution of the process is not completed in step 713, program execution (step 708) is continued.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a computer center network system such as a university that provides a service for executing a user program. In the computer center, a network terminal device 21 for a user to input a program, a network 22 for connecting computers in the computer center, an execution environment manager 24 for managing a program execution environment 23 composed of computers connected to the network, processing The computer group 25 that executes is arranged. The user connects to the program execution environment 23 of the computer center that is the service provider through the terminal device 21 and entrusts the program execution. The processing capability definition in this case is given as an aggregate of attribute and value sets, for example as follows.
<Objective Type = ”Response” Measure = ”ms”> 100 </ Objective>
<Required Type = ”MemoryMax” Measure = ”MB”> 28 </ Required>
<Required Type = ”StorageMax” Measure = ”MB”> 256 </ Required>
<Required Type = ”CTIME” Measure = ”ms”> 10 <Required>
The Objective item defines the target performance. For the index specified by Type with Measure as the unit, a level of performance that does not fall below the performance level specified as a value is required. As a result of monitoring execution performance, if the actual measured value falls below this value, a method depending on the service conditions, such as allocating more resources to improve execution performance, discounting service charges, or aborting processing as an error Correspond with. Required defines the required resources. If the Objective item is not reached even though resources that satisfy the required conditions are allocated, it is determined that the processing capability definition is inappropriate or there is a possibility of a program failure.

  The execution environment manager procures the processing capacity by reserving a computer resource that can provide the processing capacity specified as Required in the processing capacity definition among the available computer resources. At this time, if the computer resource is not activated, the activation process is performed. If the Required condition cannot be satisfied even though all available computer resources are allocated, the execution request is rejected as the program cannot be executed. When the user receives an answer from the execution environment manager that the processing capability can be procured, the user transmits a program to be executed to the execution environment manager and requests execution. The execution environment manager deploys the received user program to the reserved computer resource and starts it. In the above processing capability definition example, 28MB is specified as the MemoryMax value that defines the maximum amount of memory required at one time, and 256MB is specified as the StorageMax value that defines the maximum amount of storage required at one time. Being able to procure 28MB of memory and 256MB of storage is a prerequisite. Also, since the response time specified as Objective is specified as 100 ms, it is required that resources can be allocated and processing can be executed during this time. The execution environment manager dynamically adds / detaches computer resources to satisfy the request and increases / decreases the processing capacity. The addition / detachment of computer resources is processed using a program execution platform function that virtualizes computer resources, such as grid computing in the prior art. The program execution platform is always in a standby state even when it is not activated, and is activated in response to a request from the execution environment manager. When the execution of the program ends, the computer resources allocated to the program are released and the processing result is transmitted to the terminal device. At this time, the execution environment manager calculates the amount of processing capacity used by the program based on the monitoring information, and performs pay-per-use. The amount of resources used by the program and the measured performance of the program are provided to the service user together with the processing result.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to avoid the problem that the load of the computer fluctuates when the number of users fluctuates and the processing speed becomes unpredictable, and as many users as possible can use the computer center at the same time. Thus, it is possible to use the processing capability to finish the arithmetic processing within the required time.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a system that provides processing capability to a mobile terminal. The portable terminal 31 is connected to the execution environment manager 35 via the network 33 in the system by connecting to the wireless gateway 32 of the system by wireless communication. A user handling a portable terminal moves the program in the execution environment 34 and obtains the result is the same as that shown in FIGS. In this example, a small portable terminal equipped with a very small data processing capability and a user interface device such as a display or earphone is carried around, and a large amount of computation is performed by wirelessly connecting to a program execution service that provides a large processing capacity at a required location. Large capacity can be made available at any time without transporting the device. For example, a chat system that uses a virtual reality type user interface using a three-dimensional image processing program requires a large processing capacity, so that it is possible to achieve sufficient quality with a device about the size of a mobile phone. It was difficult. If the present embodiment is used, the processing capability is provided from the service provider via the wireless network as necessary, so that the user can easily carry a large computing device without carrying a large computing device. But you can get enough quality service.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which the present invention is applied as an additional processing capability providing service for another program execution environment connected by wire. The other program execution environment 41 is connected to the system gateway 43 via the network 42 and further connected to the execution environment manager 46 via the network 44. The procedure for a user who manages another program execution environment 41 to move the program in the execution environment 45 and obtain the result is the same as that shown in FIGS. In this example, the execution environment 41 does not always maintain the required maximum amount of processing capacity, but when it is predicted that a shortage of processing capacity will occur, this service is used to provide a computer with a low turnover rate. Asset holdings can be reduced. The provider of this service can increase the turnover rate of computer assets by providing a service to another user in a time zone different from the time zone reserved by a certain user.

It is a functional component block diagram regarding this invention. It is a network system block diagram of a 1st Example. It is a network system block diagram of a 2nd Example. It is a network system block diagram of a 3rd Example. It is the processing flow of the service user in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Example. It is the processing flow of the service provider in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Service user, 102 ... Processing capability definition, 103 ... Program, 104 ... Program execution commissioning means, 105 ... Service provider, 106 ... Authentication means, 107 ... Program transmission / reception means, 108 ... Program deployment means, 109 ... Resource adjustment Means 110 ... Monitoring means 111 ... Result providing means 113 ... Execution environment manager 114 ... Computer for executing processing 115 ... Program execution base 21 ... Network terminal device for user to input program 22 ... Computer center A network for connecting computers in the network, 23... A program execution environment composed of computers connected to the network, 24... An execution environment manager, 25... A computer for executing processing, 31. ... wireless gateway, 33 ... computer center A network connecting computers of the above, 34... A program execution environment composed of computers connected to the network, 35... Execution environment manager, 36... A computer executing processing, 41. A network connected to the network 43, a network gateway 44, a network connecting computers in the computer center, 45 a program execution environment composed of computers connected to the network, 46 an execution environment manager, 47 a computer executing processing.

Claims (8)

A service method for providing an execution environment for a program held by a user,
A means for the user to notify the execution environment of the processing power required by the program;
Means for the service provider to confirm that the execution environment can provide sufficient processing power to the user;
Means for deploying user programs to the execution environment;
When the processing capability requested by the user changes from moment to moment, the execution environment dynamically procures processing capability from a networked computer and guarantees the provision of necessary and sufficient processing capability;
Providing a service method.   The method according to claim 1, further comprising means for authenticating a user and preventing an unauthorized person from using the execution environment.   The method according to claim 1, further comprising means for charging a user according to the processing capacity used by the program.   The method according to claim 1, further comprising means for measuring a processing capability used by the program and a performance exhibited by the program and notifying a user of the executed program.   The method according to claim 1, further comprising means for deleting a program that has consumed a certain amount of time or a certain processing capacity from the execution environment.   A service method for distributing a program executed by the method according to claim 1 and an example processing capability definition for a fee or free of charge by a computer-usable recording medium or communication means.   The service method according to claim 1, wherein the service provider dynamically configures the processing capability required by the execution environment by procuring from a third party when necessary. A service method provided by combining the methods according to claim 1.

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