JP2005301824A - Method for distributing and storing data, terminal device therefor and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technology allowing easy and low-cost realization of location distribution of important data. <P>SOLUTION: This terminal device capable of communicating with the other terminal device via a communication network has: a means transmitting a requirement message requiring use of a storage area of the other terminal device to the other terminal device; a means receiving a response message to the requirement message from the other terminal device, and transmitting data stored in the storage area to the other terminal device when the response message has contents of permitting the use of the storage area; and a means acquiring the data stored in the storage area from the other terminal device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for distributing and storing data for disaster recovery of data.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technology for disaster recovery that makes it possible to recover data when a server holding important data fails.

  For example, if a backup server is installed at a location different from the server that is normally used, and important data in the server that is normally used is stored in the backup server in batch or real time, the data of the server that is normally used is damaged. There is a technique of receiving data supply from a backup server when received.

As a technique related to data backup, for example, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1.
JP 2002-55886 A

  However, the conventional data backup technique requires cost and labor since it is necessary to construct equipment separately from the equipment that is normally used. Therefore, the data location distribution by the conventional data backup technology cannot be easily used by individuals.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables easy and low-cost location distribution of important data.

Said subject is a terminal device which can communicate with another terminal device via a communication network,
Means for transmitting a request message for requesting use of a storage area of the other terminal device to the other terminal device; and a response message to the request message is received from the other terminal device, and the response message is stored in the memory Means for transmitting the data stored in the storage area to the other terminal device, and means for acquiring the data stored in the storage area from the other terminal device when the content is permitted to be used in the area Can be solved by a terminal device having

  According to the present invention, data can be easily stored in another terminal device, and the location distribution of important data can be realized.

  In the above terminal device, means for communicating with an intermediary server having a function of associating and holding identification information and group names of a plurality of terminal devices, the intermediary server, the terminal device identification information, and the terminal device And a means for transmitting information including a group name to which the group belongs.

  Further, the intermediary server is requested to request information of another terminal device belonging to a specific group and to which the request message is transmitted, and from the intermediary server, another terminal device belonging to the specific group is requested. Means for receiving information may be provided. With such a configuration, data location distribution can be performed among terminal devices belonging to a specific group.

  The present invention also provides a terminal device capable of communicating with another terminal device via a communication network, and means for receiving a request message requesting use of a storage area of the terminal device from the other terminal device; Determining whether to permit use of the storage area in response to reception of the request message, and when permitting use of the storage area, securing the storage area and permitting use of the storage area; It can also be configured as a terminal device having means for transmitting the response message shown to the other terminal device and means for receiving data from the other terminal device and storing it in the storage area.

  Further, the present invention is a terminal device capable of communicating with another terminal device via a communication network, and receives a first request message requesting use of a storage area of the terminal device from the other terminal device. And determining whether to permit the use of the storage area in response to receiving the request message, and when permitting the use of the storage area, to the other terminal apparatus, A means for transmitting a second request message for requesting use of a storage area, and a response message indicating that a storage area for the first request message is secured and the use of the storage area is permitted to the other terminal device A means for transmitting, receiving data from the other terminal device, receiving a response message to the second request message from the means for storing in the storage area and the other terminal device; In the case where the answer message has contents permitting the use of the storage area, the terminal apparatus may include means for transmitting data stored in the storage area to the other terminal apparatus.

  According to the present invention, since the terminal device that has received the storage area securing request transmits the storage area securing request to the terminal device that has transmitted the request, the storage area can be easily exchanged.

  As described above, according to the present invention, data can be easily stored in another terminal device, so that the location distribution of important data can be easily realized at low cost.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Overview)
In the embodiment of the present invention, data is distributed and distributed between two terminals that perform peer-to-peer communication via a communication network such as the Internet. The outline of the processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a mediation server 3 for establishing a data channel for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 is provided between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2. In order to establish a data channel, the intermediary server 3 performs name resolution by converting the name of the connection destination terminal included in the connection request transmitted from the terminal into a destination address, and exchanges information for establishing the data channel. For example, if the data channel is established using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), the mediation server 3 is a SIP proxy server. Further, the data channel to be established can be an encrypted channel such as IPsec, but the encryption may not be performed in the present embodiment. When an encrypted channel is used as the data channel, the mediation server 3 mediates exchange of key information and address information for encrypted communication between terminals.

  In FIG. 1, first, each of the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 registers their name, address, and a group to which the terminal belongs (referred to as “community” in this specification) to the mediation server 3 (step S1). .

  Thereafter, in the example of FIG. 1, the terminal 1 transmits a connection request message to the terminal 2 (step S2). Before the connection request message is transmitted, the terminal 1 can use the mediation server 3 to acquire information on the connection destination terminal and select the connection destination terminal. The connection request message transmitted in step S2 is transmitted to the terminal 2 via the mediation server 3 (step S3), and the terminal 2 transmits a response message to the connection request message (steps S4 and S5). When terminal 1 receives the response message, terminal 1 and terminal 2 acquire each other's address information necessary for peer-to-peer communication, and peer-to-peer communication between terminal 1 and terminal 2 becomes possible.

  By using the data channel between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 established as described above, the terminal 1 transmits a use request for the storage area of the terminal 2 to the terminal 2 (step S6). The terminal 2 determines whether or not to allow the terminal 1 to use its own storage area, and if so, returns a response to that effect to the terminal 1 (step S7). The terminal 1 that has received the response indicating that the use is permitted transfers its own data to the storage area secured in the terminal 2 (step S8), and the terminal 2 stores the data. Further, the data of the terminal 1 stored in the terminal 2 is transmitted to the terminal 1 in response to a data request from the terminal 1. Further, the data of the terminal 1 stored in the terminal 2 is deleted by a data deletion operation from the terminal 1, an expiration of the usage period of the storage area, and the storage area is released.

(Device configuration)
Each of the above-described terminals and mediation server is realized by mounting a program for executing each process described in this specification on a general computer including a CPU, a storage device, an input / output device, a communication device, and the like. it can. FIG. 2 shows a configuration including functional blocks of a terminal and an intermediary server realized by such a program. An SIP proxy server is shown as an example of the mediation server 3. In addition, since the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 are the same structures, the terminal 1 is demonstrated about a terminal.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal 1 includes a resource exchange function unit 11 and a SIP function unit 12. The resource exchange function unit 11 includes a user search function unit 111, a resource exchange processing unit 112, and a storage area reservation table 113.

  The user search function unit 111 has a function of receiving information on terminals participating in the community by, for example, transmitting a SUBSCRIBE message to the SIP proxy server 3 and selecting a specific terminal from the information. The SIP proxy server 3 may be requested to search for a terminal under specific conditions, and the result may be received. The resource exchange processing unit 112 is a processing unit for performing the resource exchange (storage area lending / borrowing) process after step S6 in FIG. 1, and refers to the storage area reservation table 113 to determine the current recording area lending status. In addition to the confirmation, it is determined whether or not the requested storage capacity is lent out in consideration of the entire storage capacity at the present time. Also, general resource exchange processing in an example described later is performed. In the storage area securing table 113, the lent storage capacity and the expiration date are recorded in association with the name of the terminal that lent the storage area. The SIP function unit 12 is a function unit for executing a session related to SIP, and includes a session management unit 121 for managing a session.

  The SIP proxy server 3 holds a user state management table and performs a user state management unit 33 that performs a process related to a community, a session management unit 31 that performs a process related to a SIP session according to the present embodiment, and a load distribution process described later. A distributed processing unit 32 is provided. The user status management table will be described in detail in the following example.

  Hereinafter, each process in the apparatus having the above configuration will be described in detail.

(Processing for identifying the partner terminal)
First, with reference to FIG. 3, a process until the terminal transmits a connection request to a specific terminal will be described in detail. The SIP proxy server 3 in the example of FIG. 3 has a user state management table as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, this user status management table indicates the community name, the name of the terminal belonging to the community, and whether or not the terminal notifies the other members (terminals) of its own presence. Contains information (notified or not notified). Thereafter, when it is allowed to notify other members of the community of its own existence, the terminal may be expressed as “participating” in the community.

  In FIG. 3, first, the community name to which the terminal belongs, the name of the terminal, and the information of the address are transmitted from each terminal to the SIP proxy server 3 by the SIP REGISTER message. The community name and the name of the terminal corresponding to the community name are recorded in the state management table (step S11). Information that associates names with addresses for use in name resolution is also recorded.

  Here, when the user of the terminal 1 wants to rent a storage area of any terminal in the community, the user terminal 1 instructs the terminal 1 so that the user terminal 1 has the community name “community”. A SUBSCRIBE message including -1234 "is transmitted to the SIP proxy server 3 (step S12). This message is a message requesting the SIP proxy server 3 to transmit the names of terminals participating in the community “community-1234”. Although illustration is omitted, in the case of FIG. 3, since there is no terminal that first participates in “community-1234”, the SIP proxy server 3 sends a NOTIFY message indicating that there are no participating members to the terminal. Return to 1.

  In step S 13, the terminal 2 transmits a PUBLISH message specifying “community-1234” to the SIP proxy server 3. This message is a message for allowing the SIP proxy server 3 to notify a member of the community “community-1234” of the presence of itself (in this case, the terminal 2). When the SIP proxy server 3 receives this message, the SIP proxy server 3 sets the notification or non-notification field of the terminal 2 in the user status management table to “notification”.

  In step S13, if the terminal 2 is not registered in the user status management table in association with “community-1234”, the SIP proxy server 3 transmits an error message to the terminal 2, for example, Participation in “Community-1234” can be refused. Thereby, processing within a specific community becomes possible.

  In response to the participation of the terminal 2 in the community “community-1234”, the SIP proxy server 3 sends a NOTIFY message notifying the terminal 1 that the terminal 2 is participating as a member in “community-1234”. Transmit (step S14).

  The terminal 1 makes a connection request to the terminal 2 by transmitting an INVITE message to the SIP proxy server with the notified name of the terminal 2 as a destination (step S15). The terminal 1 and the terminal 2 are connected through (steps S16 to S20), and the storage area lending / borrowing process is performed in steps S21 to S23.

  When a plurality of terminals are notified in step S14, one of them is selected and a connection request is transmitted. Here, in step S14, if the SIP proxy server 3 notifies the terminal 1 of the name of each terminal, the location of each terminal, the storage capacity that each terminal can lend to other terminals, etc., the terminal 1 The target terminal can be selected based on the information.

(Detailed operation: Terminal 1 (transmission side))
Next, processing relating to storage area exchange in the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 will be described in more detail with reference to flowcharts showing respective operations. First, the operation of the terminal 1 (transmission side) will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the terminal 1 selects a terminal to borrow a storage area (here, the terminal 2 is selected) (step S31). Then, the terminal 1 transmits a storage area reservation request message for requesting storage area reservation to the terminal 2 (step S32). The storage area securing request message includes conditions such as the name of the terminal 1, the requested storage capacity secured for the terminal 1 in the terminal 2, and the expiration date of use of the storage area in the terminal 2. The storage capacity may be specified by, for example, inputting the capacity desired by the user of the terminal 1 at the terminal 1, or by specifying the name of the file to be stored in the terminal 2, the terminal 1 automatically May be included in the storage area allocation message.

  Thereafter, the terminal 1 waits for a response message from the terminal 2 and, when receiving the response message from the terminal 2 (step S33), determines whether the response message permits a request included in the storage area allocation request message. Check (step S34). Note that the response message includes whether or not storage capacity is secured in the storage area securing request message, whether or not the expiration date is valid, and the like. Further, as will be described later, when the terminal 2 secures the storage capacity under a condition that does not satisfy the requested condition, the condition is included.

  If the response message is a content permitting the request included in the storage area reservation request message, the data stored in the terminal 2 is transmitted to the terminal 2 (step S35). If the response message is a content that does not permit the request included in the storage area reservation request message (rejection response), another terminal is selected in step S31, and the processing from step S32 is executed again.

  The terminal 1 checks whether or not the data is correctly stored by accessing the storage area of the terminal 2 periodically, for example, until the data is stored. If the terminal 1 determines that the data stored in the terminal 2 is necessary, the terminal 1 acquires the data from the terminal 2 (step S36). This determination is automatically made according to an instruction from the user or when the data in the terminal 1 is damaged. In addition, appropriate data maintenance is performed.

  Further, when the use of the storage area is terminated (Yes in step S37), such as when data storage in the terminal 2 is no longer necessary, a notification for deleting the data is transmitted from the terminal 1 to the terminal 2 (step S38). ). Furthermore, when the storage time limit has passed (Yes in step S39), the terminal 1 ends the management of the data stored in the terminal 2. Note that when the time limit has passed, the storage area securing request message may be transmitted to the terminal 2 again.

(Detailed operation: Terminal 2 (receiving side))
Next, the operation of the receiving terminal 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the terminal 2 receives the storage area securing request message transmitted from the terminal 1 (step S41). Then, it is determined whether or not a request for a storage capacity or the like included in the storage area allocation request message is permitted. For example, the determination is whether the name of the terminal included in the storage area reservation request message is the name of a terminal registered in advance as a terminal that permits the use of the storage area, or whether the requested recording capacity can be secured until the requested time limit. Whether or not is determined by referring to the storage area securing table.

  When the request transmitted from the terminal 1 cannot be permitted (No in Step S42), the terminal 2 transmits a rejection response message to the terminal 1 (Step S43). If the request can be permitted, the terminal 2 secures a recording area having the requested storage capacity (step S44).

  As a method for securing the recording area, for example, there is a method of creating a directory accessible only by the terminal 1. Alternatively, a general directory may be created by encrypting data transmitted from the terminal 1 with the encryption key of the terminal 1. By these methods, the data stored in the secured recording area can be used only by the terminal 1.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal 2 records the storage capacity reserved for the terminal 1 and the expiration date in the storage area reservation table in association with the name of the terminal 1.

  Subsequently, the terminal 2 transmits a message indicating that the request is permitted to the terminal 1 (step S45). In step S44, even if the condition requested by the terminal 1 cannot be completely satisfied, the storage area is ensured within the range that can be satisfied, and the information on the condition under which the storage area is secured is It may be included in the response message of S45. For example, if there is a request from the terminal 1 for a storage capacity of 120 M and a period of 4 months, but the terminal 2 can only satisfy the request for a storage capacity of 100 M and a period of 3 months, the terminal 2 has a storage capacity of 100 M and a period of 3 months. The storage area is secured under the condition, and the fact that the storage area is secured under this condition is included in the response message and transmitted to the terminal 1 in step S45. Thereafter, if there is a request for data transmission from the terminal 1, the terminal 2 transmits the data to the terminal 1 as appropriate.

  The terminal 2 releases the storage area when it receives a notification of the end of area allocation from the terminal 1 (Yes in step S46) or when the period set as the storage period for the data has elapsed (Yes in step S47). (Step S48). Even if the storage area is required to be released in the terminal 2 even within the initially set area securing period, a notification to that effect is transmitted to the terminal 1.

(Example of storage area swap)
In the above example, for one request, the other secures a storage area in response to the request. In addition, as described below, the storage area can be swapped by making a request in response to one request. This example will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal 1 on the transmission side. Similarly to the example shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 1 transmits a storage area securing request message to the terminal 2 (steps S51 and S52). For example, a storage area securing request message with a requested storage capacity of 100M and a storage area securing period of 3 months is transmitted. The terminal 2 that has received the storage area reservation request message transmits a storage area reservation request message including the same conditions to the terminal 1. The terminal 1 that has received the storage area securing request message from the terminal 2 performs the same processing as in steps S41 to S45 in FIG. 6, and stores a rejection response message to the terminal 2 or a storage area related to the request from the terminal 2 A response message to the effect of securing is transmitted (step S53).

  Further, the terminal 1 performs the same processing as the steps S46 to S48 in FIG. 6 as processing related to the storage area (lent storage area) for the request from the terminal 2 (step S54).

  Further, the terminal 1 executes the same process as the step S33 to the step 39 in FIG. 5 including receiving a response to the storage area securing request message for the terminal 2 as the process related to the borrowed storage area (step S55). .

  Next, the operation of the terminal 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the terminal 2 receives the storage area reservation request message from the terminal 1 (step S61), the terminal 2 determines whether or not the request can be permitted. If the request can be permitted (Yes in step S62), the terminal 2 requests for the same condition. Is transmitted to the terminal 1 (step S63). If the storage area corresponding to the request from the terminal 1 cannot be secured (No in step S62), a rejection response message is transmitted to the terminal 1 (step S64). After transmitting the storage area reservation request message to the terminal 1, the terminal 1 waits for a response from the terminal 1 to the storage area reservation request message and receives a response (step S65). When the response is received, the terminal 1 permits the request from the terminal 2. Determine if it is a thing. If permitted (Yes in step S66), the process related to the storage area to be lent, such as securing the storage area corresponding to the request received from the terminal 1 first, is the same as in steps S44 to S48 in FIG. Is performed (step S68). If not permitted (No in step S66), a rejection response message is transmitted to the terminal 1 (step S69).

  Further, when the terminal 1 permits the request from the terminal 2, the same processing as the steps S35 to S39 in FIG. 5 is executed as the processing related to the storage area to be borrowed (step S70).

(Swap between multiple terminals)
It is also possible for the SIP proxy server 3 to swap storage areas among a plurality of terminals by managing the storage area exchange state in terminals belonging to the community. Next, an example of swap between terminals A, B, and C will be described.

  In this case, the user state management table in the SIP proxy server 3 has the configuration shown in FIG. In other words, each of the terminals A, B, and C belonging to the community X has a configuration including a lent storage capacity, a borrowed storage capacity, and a lent loan storage capacity. The community name, terminal name, and storage capacity that can be lent are registered in advance by a REGISTER message. In this example, in addition to processing for requesting storage capacity between terminals and transmission / reception of response messages, each terminal indicates the status of storage capacity borrowing via a signaling channel with the SIP proxy server 3. To report to. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the processing described below has been completed.

  For example, when the terminal A borrows 100 M of the storage capacity of the terminal B, the information is reported to the SIP proxy server 3. As shown in FIG. 10, the SIP proxy server 3 records that the terminal A has borrowed the storage capacity 100M of the terminal B.

  The terminal B desires to borrow a storage area from another terminal in accordance with the storage capacity lending to the terminal A. In this example of swap between a plurality of terminals, the terminal B supplies the requested storage capacity to the SIP proxy server. 3 is notified. The SIP proxy server 3 notifies the terminal B that 100M cannot be borrowed from the terminal A but can be borrowed from the terminal C. Based on this information, terminal B transmits a connection request to terminal C, performs connection with terminal C, and performs a process of borrowing the storage capacity of terminal C. FIG. 10 shows a state after the terminal B has borrowed a storage capacity of 100M from the terminal C.

  The above is an example of the appearance of three terminals, but it is possible to carry out the process of borrowing the storage capacity to a free terminal even in the same manner among a large number of terminals. It becomes possible to use.

(Explanation of load balancing processing)
By distributing and distributing data to a plurality of terminals using the mechanism described so far, it is possible to perform disaster recovery of data and to perform load distribution related to access to data. An example in which load distribution is performed by the distribution processing unit 32 of the SIP proxy server 3 will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

  In this example, it is assumed that terminal A and terminal B store the same data to be disclosed to other terminals. First, the terminal A and the terminal B transmit a notification of participation using the PUBLISH message to the SIP proxy server 3 (steps S81 and S82). In this example of load distribution processing, the SIP proxy server 3 recognizes that the terminal A and the terminal B allow data access from other terminals by this notification.

  Subsequently, in order to use the data related to the disclosure, an INVITE message requesting access from the terminal C to any one of the community “community-1234” is transmitted to the SIP proxy server 3 (step S83). The SIP proxy server 3 arbitrarily selects one of the terminals A and B, and transmits an INVITE message requesting connection to the selected terminal (in this case, the terminal A is selected) (step S84). Then, the data channel is established between the terminal C and the terminal A, and the terminal C accesses the data of the terminal A (step S85).

  Next, the terminal D transmits to the SIP proxy server 3 an INVITE message requesting access to any terminal in the community “community-1234” (step S86). Since the SIP proxy server 3 has already accessed the terminal C among the terminals A and B, the SIP proxy server 3 transmits an INVITE message for requesting connection from the terminal D to the other terminal B (step S87). ). Then, the terminal D accesses the data of the terminal B (Step S88). Thereby, load distribution between the terminal A and the terminal B can be realized.

  In addition to selecting the access destination terminals in order as described above, priorities may be given to the terminals in advance according to the processing capabilities of the terminals, and the terminals may be selected according to the priorities. Such a load distribution processing technique is not particularly large in data capacity, but is particularly effective when the access frequency and input / output processing load are large.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, storage areas can be easily exchanged, so that a simple data disaster recovery technique can be provided. In addition, since the storage area can be efficiently distributed in the community, the storage area can be effectively used. Furthermore, a simple load distribution technique can be provided by using the function of the mediation server.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications can be made within the scope of the claims.

It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the process in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a terminal and a mediation server. It is a figure for demonstrating in detail the process until a terminal transmits a connection request to a specific terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of a user state management table. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal 1 (transmission side). It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal 2 (reception side). It is a figure which shows an example of a storage area reservation table. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal 1 (transmission side) in the case of swapping a storage area. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal 2 (reception side) in the case of swapping a storage area. It is a figure which shows the other example of a user state management table. It is a sequence chart for demonstrating a load distribution process.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2 Terminal 3 Mediation server, SIP proxy server 11 Resource exchange function unit 12 SIP function unit 111 User search function unit 112 Resource exchange processing unit 113 Storage area reservation table 121, 31 Session management unit 32 Distributed processing unit 33 User state management unit

Claims (11)

A terminal device capable of communicating with other terminal devices via a communication network,
Means for transmitting a request message for requesting use of a storage area of the other terminal device to the other terminal device;
When a response message to the request message is received from the other terminal device, and the response message has a content permitting the use of the storage area, data stored in the storage area is transmitted to the other terminal device Means,
A terminal device comprising: means for obtaining the data stored in the storage area from the other terminal device. Means for communicating with a mediation server having a function of associating and holding identification information and group names of a plurality of terminal devices;
The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising means for transmitting identification information of the terminal device and information including a group name to which the terminal device belongs to the mediation server.   Requests information of other terminal devices belonging to a specific group to which the request message is transmitted from the mediation server, and receives information of other terminal devices belonging to the specific group from the mediation server The terminal device according to claim 2, further comprising means. A terminal device capable of communicating with other terminal devices via a communication network,
Means for receiving a request message for requesting use of a storage area of the terminal device from the other terminal device;
It is determined whether or not the use of the storage area is permitted in response to the reception of the request message. When the use of the storage area is permitted, the storage area is reserved and the use of the storage area is permitted. Means for transmitting a response message to the other terminal device;
Receiving the data from the other terminal device, and storing the data in the storage area. A terminal device capable of communicating with other terminal devices via a communication network,
Means for receiving a first request message for requesting use of a storage area of the terminal device from the other terminal device;
It is determined whether to permit the use of the storage area in response to reception of the request message, and when the use of the storage area is permitted, the use of the storage area of the other terminal apparatus is used for the other terminal apparatus. Means for sending a second request message requesting
Means for securing a storage area for the first request message and transmitting a response message indicating permission to use the storage area to the other terminal device;
Means for receiving data from the other terminal device and storing it in the storage area, and receiving a response message for the second request message from the other terminal device, and the response message permitting the use of the storage area And a means for transmitting data to be stored in the storage area to the other terminal device. A method of processing in a system including a first terminal device and a second terminal device connected via a communication network,
The first terminal device transmitting a request message requesting the second terminal device to use the storage area of the second terminal device;
The second terminal device receives the request message, determines whether or not to permit the use of the storage area, and when permitting the use of the storage area, secures the storage area and uses the storage area. Transmitting a response message indicating permission to the first terminal device;
A first terminal device receiving the response message from a second terminal device and transmitting data to be stored in a storage area of the second terminal device to the second terminal device;
A second terminal device receiving the data from the first terminal device and storing the data in a storage area secured in response to the request message. A second terminal device, in response to receiving the request message, transmitting a message requesting use of a storage area of another terminal device to an intermediary server connected via the communication network;
The intermediary server transmits information of a third terminal device that can cause the second terminal device to use the storage area to the second terminal device;
The method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of connecting the second terminal device to the third terminal device and using the storage area of the third terminal device. The first terminal device and the second terminal device belong to the same group, an intermediary server having table information including information on the terminal devices belonging to the group is connected to the communication network, and the method includes:
A third terminal device connected to the communication network transmits a connection request message for requesting connection to any terminal device in the group to the mediation server;
The mediation server that has received the connection request message selects any one of the terminal devices belonging to the group including the first terminal device and the second terminal device by referring to the table information, Transmitting the connection request message to the selected terminal device;
The method according to claim 6, further comprising: connecting a third terminal device to the selected terminal device and accessing data stored in the terminal device. A program for causing a terminal device capable of communicating with another terminal device via a communication network to execute processing,
A procedure for transmitting a request message requesting use of a storage area of the other terminal device to the other terminal device;
When a response message to the request message is received from the other terminal device, and the response message has a content permitting the use of the storage area, data stored in the storage area is transmitted to the other terminal device Procedure and
A program for causing the terminal device to execute a procedure for acquiring the data stored in the storage area from the other terminal device. A program for causing a terminal device capable of communicating with another terminal device via a communication network to execute processing,
A procedure for receiving a request message for requesting use of a storage area of the terminal device from the other terminal device;
It is determined whether or not the use of the storage area is permitted in response to the reception of the request message. When the use of the storage area is permitted, the storage area is reserved and the use of the storage area is permitted. A procedure for transmitting a response message to the other terminal device;
A program for causing the terminal device to execute a procedure for receiving data from the other terminal device and storing the data in the storage area. A program for causing a terminal device capable of communicating with another terminal device via a communication network to execute processing,
A procedure for receiving a first request message for requesting use of a storage area of the terminal device from the other terminal device;
It is determined whether to permit the use of the storage area in response to reception of the request message, and when the use of the storage area is permitted, the use of the storage area of the other terminal apparatus is used for the other terminal apparatus. Sending a second request message requesting;
A procedure for securing a storage area for the first request message and transmitting a response message indicating permission to use the storage area to the other terminal device;
Procedures for receiving data from the other terminal device and storing it in the storage area, and receiving a response message to the second request message from the other terminal device, and the response message permitting the use of the storage area A program for causing the terminal device to execute a procedure for transmitting data to be stored in the storage area to the other terminal device.

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